Time Twitch
by AtticFan
Summary: Who would've thought that using a time turner practically every day for a year would have consequences? Certainly not 13 year old Hermione Granger. Once she hits 7th year she finds out how wrong she was. Fairly AU. Read&Review if you please
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or really have anything to do with it. This is a work of fan fiction. I'm not making money, and I (again) DON'T OWN THIS._

_A/N: First Fic! Thanks for reading. This is a time turner fic- you know the drill. This is one of my favorite HP genres and I couldn't resist throwing my 2 cents in. _

It was way too early, this Hermione knew. She knew it with absolute and unrelenting certainty. And yet, she was awake to witness the dark morning sky getting pinker and pinker.

Why was she awake? Hermione prided herself on being a late riser. It was the only slovenly habit she had, and in a world where all her friends were teenage boys, she had to own it. If she started to get up with the sun like this, there would be no end to the commentary that would come from Harry and Ron.

'Why are you always up so early? Don't you ever sleep? Or are you to wound up to relax even when you're unconscious?' She imagined Ron saying. He had the gift of being blunt. Oh wait, it wasn't a gift. It was a curse, and it had spurred Hermione into countless fights with him.

Just as she imagined Ron would take her sleeping changes as another way she was uptight, she knew Harry would worry for her. He would give her concerned glances over breakfast, and offer to take her book bag to class. He would fuss over the bags under her eyes and try to get her to go to bed at a more reasonable hour- though this would seriously cut into Hermione's late-night studying time. In the end, he would finally voice his worry over her lack of sleep, doing mental tabulations of just how many hours of rest she had gotten. Really, she would have no choice but to hit him.

This was why Hermione lay in bed for up to three hours every morning. Since Ron had been dating Lavender -going on two years now- she didn't even have privacy in her own dorm room. Lavender refused to admit to it, but Hermione knew that when Ron asked her she would act as a spy for him. She even went so far as to try to have a heart-to-heart with Hermione to gain information.

And so, for the fourth morning this week, Hermione lay silent in her four-poster, with the curtains drawn, wide awake and staring at the scrap of window that peaked through her curtains- revealing the morning sky.

It was a twinge that got her up. There was the most annoying sensation in her stomach that would awaken her every morning at five am on the dot. It was almost like the cramp she used to get in her legs when she was suffering a growth spurt, but she had finished growing.

The image flew unwanted through her mind- that her growth spurt would not be up, but out. That she would balloon up and become so fat that broomsticks and couches the world over would shudder in her presence. She quashed the concept down in her brain and mentally sat on it. It didn't happen like that. All the same, Hermione ran her hands over her hips just to reassure herself that she hadn't expanded. She hadn't.

She was perfectly aware that she was curvier than the other girls in her year. And she couldn't help but cast a jealous eye over Ginny's slender frame from time to time. However, she had long considered her mother to be one of the most beautiful women alive, and knew she got her body from her. Not that this meant much when every girl she knew had a boy (or girl, in Padma's case) hanging off of her and Hermione had yet to be asked out as anything more than an escort. Still, she carried on as she always had, unwilling to change her bookish personality just because boys her age preferred beauty to brains.

Once Hermione heard Parvati and Lavender get up and start fussing over over their clothes for the day (this was spectacular, in Hermione's opinion, considering they all wore uniforms), Hermione began her mental countdown until she could feign waking up. After ten minutes of waiting, she carefully rolled over and opened her curtains.

She was about to swing herself out of bed when a shooting pain coursed through her abdomen, causing her to fall off her bed and onto the floor, gently clutching her stomach.

"Oh Hermione! Are you alright? What happened?" Lavender's high, breathy voice rang out through the chamber. And to her credit, she stopped brushing her hair and rushed to Hermione's side, concern etched onto her features. Parvati wasn't far behind her.

"Cramp." was all Hermione could grunt out in response at the moment. But then, as quickly as it had come, the pain disappeared.

Parvati nodded sympathetically,

"Yeah, mine are the worst. You want me to take you to the hospital wing?" she asked.

Hermione's face relaxed from it's scrunched expression as the pain slipped out of her. Without warning, she felt right as rain and moved out of the curled up position she hadn't even realized she'd been in.

"No," Hermione sighed, "I'm fine. Just a little muscle ache from my book bag I guess."

"In your stomach?" Lavender seemed doubtful.

"You know, it's OK to have PMS, it's just us girls here. You don't always have to be such a guy, you realize." Parvati said. Hermione supposed her words were supposed to sound matter-of-fact, but they

twisted her chest with hurt.

She wasn't always a guy. Just because she didn't wear makeup or fuss over her hair or wear skirts during downtime didn't automatically change her second X chromosome to a Y. As much as she wanted to believe this, Parvati's accurate assessment of Hermione's behavior sunk down into the pit of her stomach and stayed there as surely as if she'd swallowed tar.

Without further ado, and with her roommates occupied with their beauty routines, Hermione got up, took a quick shower, and got dressed.

As she briskly walked down the stairs to the common room, having pushed all thoughts of her morning out of her head, Hermione was in a somewhat less melancholy mood. The day was just warming up and it looked like it would be wonderful weather to sit by the lake and finish her potions essay.

Just as her stomach let out a rumble, eager for breakfast, as firm hand clapped over her mouth. Hermione let out a muffled scream and attempted to bite the hand that held her captive. Another strong set of arms wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides. Though this should have frightened her more, it actually brought her some calm and she stopped struggling. She only knew two people who could work in tandem like that as well as anticipate her quick wand hand.

The moment the pressure on her mouth let up she let them have it,

"Fred and George Weasley, if you don't let me go this very minute I am not only reporting you for breaking into Hogwarts, I am going to hex you so thoroughly that your grandchildren will have tentacles!"

At this, Fred Weasley's hand clapped back over her mouth and his grinning face came back into view.

"Now, is that any way to greet a friend?" he asked, eyes glittering with mischief.

"I'm starting to get the impression that she isn't happy to see us." George grinned over Hermione's head at his twin. He leaned in close, putting his head on Hermione's shoulder and said. "If you promise not to run off and tell, we'll let you go." He said sweetly.

To this, Hermione could only nod. Once Fred and George released her, she whipped around to face them. Her anger wasn't gone, but she was too happy to see her old sparring partners back in the Gryffindor common room.

"What are you two up to? You know that if you're caught you'll be unceremoniously booted from the premises for trespassing." Hermione couldn't help but remind them that Headmistress McGonagall would have them out before the first firework could leave their fingers.

"Of course we know that." Fred replied.

"What makes you think we didn't come just to see your smiling face, hm?" George reached out to pinch her cheek, only to be swatted away.

"No, what we really came here for was this." Fred pulled out a meticulously folded old bit of parchment to present to Hermione. She recognized it immediately as the infamous Marauder's Map.

"We took it off Harry in the beginning of the summer-" Started Fred.

"-we figured he really wouldn't miss it when he wasn't at school, see?" Continued George.

"So we took it back to the shop to see if we could figure out how it worked-"

"wanted to see if there was any way to integrate the spells into a locator product we've been working on." George stopped himself from revealing any more, fearing Hermione would somehow object. Instead she just crossed her arms.

"Only, we forgot to return it to Harry before he got back," Fred looked almost contrite. Almost.

"So we came here, and we were going to just slip it back in his trunk, but we couldn't figure out which was his and we didn't want the map to fall into the wrong hands." Finally, they were getting to a point.

"You want me to get it back into Harry's trunk, without being found out, and not tell Harry or Ron you two thieves took it? Is that right?" Hermione looked at them, one right after the other.

"Pretty much." Replied George.

"And what do I get in return?" Asked Hermione.

"The pride of a job well done?"

"Store Credit?" Fred suggested, earning a scandalized look from George.

"Done." Said Hermione, holding out a hand for the map.

Fred started to pass her the map, but Hermione withdrew her hand.

"Is this a trick?" She asked, looking between the two so as to detect any mischief in their expressions.

"Would we do that?" Fred replied. Hermione raised her eyebrow at his response, silently answering his question. George, seeing that she remained unconvinced, raised his right hand.

"I solemnly swear that this is not jinxed, hexed, or pranked in any way." He put his hand down, "Besides, we see you as a little sister."

"And you know how scared we are of crossing Ginny." Added Fred.

With a final look at the twins, Hermione took the map out of Fred's hand.

The minute Hermione's hands curled around the parchment she doubled over. There was a violent tugging sensation in her stomach, which was similar to a portkey, only much much more painful.

_A/N: Whatcha think? Love it? Hate it? Suggestions? Review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter-never have, never will- and though that fact keeps me up at night, I shall carry on. This is fan fiction, and I'm making no money._

_A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews guys! I always thought that FF writers were being silly when they said reviews make you want to update, but they weren't. This will hopefully answer some questions as to what the devil is going on. _

The world seemed to throw itself into a bizarre combination of rewind and fast forward. Everything shifted and blurred jerking back and forth.

The only constant was the parchment in Hermione's right hand. For a fraction of a second, the world stilled and she was in a stationary shop, clutching the map. She barely noticed that it was crisp and new before she was thrown again, and more violently, into a blurry and jerking setting. All the while, Hermione clung onto the parchment.

For the space of a blink, Hermione was in Filch's office, and two twelve year old Weasley twins held the parchment with her. But before she could register the scene it was gone.

When the world stilled for a third time, Hermione concentrated on staying still. And not vomiting.

But mostly on staying still.

Her eyes were shut tight in her effort. Once she was sure that she wasn't going anywhere, Hermione cracked an eye open. She was in what she immediately recognized as the 7th year boy's dormitory.

She hadn't been in there yet this year, but it couldn't have been anywhere else. On the wall next to one of the beds was a flashy poster of a woman winking at her that confirmed it. Dean had always had a weakness for muggle posters, though it was interesting to note that he'd upgraded from football subject matter to something saucier.

After a quick inventory of her surroundings, Hermione's attention was brought to the fact that she was wedged up to the elbow underneath Harry's mattress. She carefully extracted her arm still holding the map and flopped onto Harry's bed. Usually her time-spasms weren't that dramatic.

Ever since her third-year experience with the time turner, Hermione had been subject to side effects. It was part of the package that she'd agreed to when she was thirteen. But then, how many good decisions do most thirteen-year-old girls really make? Of course, she wouldn't trade her decision for the world. She had gotten to play hero and save Sirius Black and Buckbeak after all. But the occasional time twitch will grate on anyone's nerves.

Usually the twitch would only be a few minutes or hours backward and forward. The theory behind it being that the time turner stretches one's personal timeline around like a rubber band. Prolonged use of the time turner would make one's personal line a little extra-stretchy is all, and just like with a rubber band, Hermione's timeline would always snap back to when she left give or take a minute. The time twitches were only really a nuisance for five years after the time-turner usage, and Hermione was counting the days until she could shrug off this particular side effect for good.

It had been awhile since Hermione had twitched, the last time was during breakfast 6th year. She had taken hold of her pumpkin juice glass and been twitched back and forth from Gryffindor Table, to the kitchens. To anyone who hadn't known what was going on, it would've looked like a trick of the eye or an ill-timed blink. It had, of course, been impossible to keep hold of the liquid in her cup during her initial time-spasm and she arrived back at Gryffindor table covered in juice.

But this was the first time she'd jumped back in a space of years (for that was the only explanation she could come up with for the stationary store and the miniature Fred and George she'd glimpsed) and she was a little rattled. Her body hummed with magic and left her bones feeling a little jangled. After a few deep breaths she remembered where she was meant to be.

Luckily, she was already in the boys' dorm so all she had to do was stow the Marauder's Map in Harry's bedside table and she could run off to breakfast. She rolled over, opened the drawer or Harry's nightstand and shoved some quills and a book out of the way. By putting the map in and arranging things over it looked as if it had been carelessly buried in the junk.

Satisfied with a job well done, Hermione straightened and made her way downstairs. The common room was empty except for one of the new first years who was on his way out.

"Wait!" she called to him. He stopped and looked around, as though expecting to be in trouble. He seemed so tiny that for a moment Hermione felt a pang of nostalgia for her first year. She was tempted to bend down to talk to him, but knew that would come off entirely too condescending. Instead she just kept a bit of distance so she could look in his eyes without looking down on him.

"I have a question for you." She stated. The boy visibly relaxed knowing he wasn't about to be punished.

"What's the date?" Hermione knew it was an odd thing to check, but it was better safe than sorry. The boy looked at her as though she was crazy, but didn't voice that particular opinion.

"September 22nd." Said the boy after a moment's thought.

'Alright,' thought Hermione, 'that's normal, so now's all that's left is to determine the time.'

"Are you running late for class?" Hermione inquired.

"No," the kid had clearly gotten over his fear and had now affected a snotty tone. "I'm running late for breakfast. Do you mind?"

If her stomach hadn't growled at the mention of breakfast, Hermione would've lectured him on manners. As it was, she waited for him to leave the portrait hole and made her way to the Great Hall with a series of short cuts that skimmed several minutes off her travel time- thus beating him to the food.

As she was about to step into the Great Hall, Hermione took a moment to straighten her tie, smooth her skirt, and catch her breath before walking into the room. Her eyes bounced from table to table before fixing on Harry's messy black hair and truly abominable posture. She made a beeline for him and was pleased to see he'd saved her a seat.

She delivered her customary greeting to Harry by ruffling his already messy hair and sat down beside him.

"Hi Harry, sorry I'm late, did you save me some toast or did Ron eat it all?" She grabbed an apple and, eyes seeking the toast barely noticed that someone had come up behind her until a very real, very masculine voice sounded from above.

"Prongs, why is there some girl in my spot?" This question barely registered with Hermione, her mind already whirring on what she'd be doing in class that day, but she responded nevertheless.

"Prongs? Harry, since when-" At this point she looked up from her plate to the person who was sitting across from her. Staring.

It definitely wasn't Ron Weasley.

He was tall, even sitting down, and quite lean. His eyes were bright blue and his hair was a pleasant mix of blonde and brown. He had bags under his eyes that mirrored Hermione's and he was looking at her with unabashed confusion. She knew that face. She'd seen it over and over for the past four years; first in classes, then in Order meetings, and now sitting across from her in the Great Hall minus a couple laugh lines and one or two scars.

Slowly, she turned to look at Harry beside her. He too was staring at her. But up close, it could not be more obvious that she was not looking at Harry. The resemblance was uncanny, but his eyes were hazel, not green. He didn't have a great gash mark in his forehead (from what she could see through his bangs). His glasses were oblong, not round like Harry's. His jaw was slightly squarer and his face differed from Harry's in a hundred tiny ways that all hit Hermione like truck.

In a very undignified manner Hermione scrambled away from the man she was now sure was James Potter.

"No!" She couldn't help but squeak as she gracelessly removed herself from the bench. She repeated that word like a mantra as she tripped back into the man whose voice she'd heard moments before. She jumped away from him as if he were covered with poison and got a good look at the seventeen year old Sirius Black.

He was handsome, none could deny it. His hair was glossy and black, his build tall and broad. His face was smoother than any teenager's had any right to be and had strong, straight features. He looked like someone had ordered him custom-made out of a catalog, putting all the best physical attributes of a man on one person. But the most attractive thing about him was what he was displaying at that moment: his laugh. It was almost a bark and it made his normally handsome face jump to life with warmth.

Not that this was any great comfort to Hermione. She shut her eyes tight, hoping against hope that she'd flicker out of this place, but when she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of the marauders, and most of Gryffindor table, staring at her.

It is a testament to Hermione's character and constitution that she didn't run screaming from the room. Instead, she took a few very deep breaths and turned resolutely to the teachers' table. After a quick scan, Hermione found her target and marched up to the center of the table.

"Professor Dumbledore, we really need to talk."

_A/N: And now- Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Love it? Hate it? Review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If you accuse me of doing such, first I will blush like crazy, then I will deny deny deny. This is fan fiction, and I'm not making money._

_A/N: And so we continue- thanks for reading this far and for your lovely encouragement, I'm honestly falling just a little bit in love with each and every one of my reviewers._

"So," Dumbledore peered at Hermione over his teacup, "I suppose it's just a matter of waiting from here, mm?"

Hermione was much more relaxed than she should've been considering she was in the (dead) Headmaster's Office discussing the fact that she was some twenty years in the past, had no where to go, no money, and no way to control how or when she'd get back to her own time. Yes, she was about as relaxed as one could be in that situation. When she gave no real response to Dumbledore except to sip her tea, he continued.

"I would like nothing better than to help you get home, but from what you say that is more up to you." Said Dumbledore as tactfully as he could. He'd always been able to read when his students were set to snap. Hence the tea.

"But I don't have control over this. And it's never lasted this long before! This is weird and what if I never get back. What if I'm stuck here or-" Dumbledore cut off Hermione's rant gently.

"I don't believe my future self would've allowed a young lady to put herself in that much danger." At this Hermione opened her mouth to apologize, but the Headmaster continued as there was no real need. " I'll concede that this case is unusual, but not entirely unheard of. A friend of mine had an 'exchange student' for some time. I may owl her..." He trailed off in thought. Hermione waited expectantly for him to continue but when he didn't she decided to take another approach.

"I don't mean to go on, but what am I supposed to do now?" She maid a valiant effort not to sound forlorn. Of course Dumbledore picked up on her distress.

"Well there's always a bed at Hogwarts for its students. There are copies of the required texts in the library, and you already have a house, I see no reason you shouldn't pick up your 7th year here in this time. At least until your timeline comes out of spasm, you know I once threw my back out..." Again he trailed off.

"I'm afraid that would be impossible, Headmaster. If I so much as step out of this office, I could change the future, and everything about it. I may be unborn, or I could be responsible for the deaths of loved ones. The consequences could be catastrophic!" She ended her argument on a slightly hysterical note, her arms flailing about to illustrate her panic.

In some remote part of her brain, Hermione was able to register that she was losing her head. At the Headmaster. She always knew that all that Hermione-keeps-a-cool-head-under-pressure talk that Harry was always spouting was nonsense.

Dumbledore observed her, eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Miss Granger," he began, "If I am correct, your account of your experience using the time turner in your third year- vague though it may have been- has proven that not only _can _you leave this office to matriculate with the students, but you already have.

"In your future, you've already been here. You've already met your fellow students and gone about classes with them. It's already happened in their pasts, and it's about to happen in your personal future. In fact, your future may be what it is _because_ of your involvement in the past." He concluded his little speech, took a sip of his tea, and observed Hermione's flabbergasted state.

"May I make a small suggestion?" He asked.

"O-of course." She choked out. Her mind was only half in the conversation at this point, the other half reeling at Dumbledore's theories and sparking off into erratic thoughts and theories.

"If I were you," he started, leaning forward in his chair "I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I've been wanting to use that expression for months!" Dumbledore beamed.

Hermione shuffled dazedly through the corridors of Hogwarts Castle. After her talk with Dumbledore she discovered that for the first time in her life she had nothing to do. She had no quests, no danger to be fought back, no boys to take care of, no homework as of yet. She didn't need to set up her room or try to figure out where to get clothes. Dumbledore was taking care of all that. In fact, he had taken care of everything.

So what the hell was she supposed to do with herself?

Never before in all of her Hogwarts days had she not been occupied by some mission. Harry was always in trouble. Ron was delightfully high-maintenance. The twins had kept her on her toes, as well as the other delinquent students that roamed the halls. She had always had someone to look after or someone to scold. And now?

Her feet beat the familiar path to the Library and soon she was facing the doors that housed what she'd long thought of as the most comforting part of the castle, save her bed. As she walked in she breathed in the old-book smell that she loved so much. Ignoring everything else, Hermione meandered down one of the aisles and ran her hand down the spines of all the different books. As her fingers found a familiar friend, she deftly plucked it out of the shelf. Sighing, she hugged the copy of _Hogwarts: A History _close to her body.

"I thought only Mooney showed that kind of affection toward literature." Said a voice from an adjacent aisle.

"What?" Hermione looked around, trying to pinpoint who was watching.

"Over here" The voice came straight from where she'd taken the book out. In the gap between the rows there was a hint of a face looking through from the other side.

"Are you spying?" Hermione asked peeking through the tunnel at her stalker. She could only see part of his face, but with those gray eyes and the unmistakable aristocratic cheekbones, it could only be Sirius Black.

"No. I came here to check out a book on my free period. Don't tell anyone, alright?" He whispered, a laugh in his voice.

"Don't want me spreading it around school that Sirius Black doesn't know everything through osmosis?" She asked.

"What's osmosis?" Sirius' brow wrinkled at the word.

"Never mind." She giggled.

Wait. Did she honestly just giggle? At Sirius Black? Harry's godfather? The man who no more than a month ago told her that some house elves 'just needed a swift kick in the arse'? Oh yes. She most definitely did. This was new and disturbing territory for Hermione Jean Granger.

Hermione was pulled out of her reverie by another whisper.

"Hey. Meet me at the end." He brought his hand up to point the way.

To Hermione's surprise, she did just that. Once she got to the end, she saw the Marauder leaning against the book case as if to say 'What took you so long?'. She turned to face him, backing away just a little so she wouldn't get a crick in her neck. He was as tall as Ron, though not half so gangly. Not that she didn't already know that. He was a tall man as she knew him, but something about him being a teenager made it so much more noticeable.

"Yes?" she didn't want to invite too many questions and thought the best way around this was to act as though he should know all about her. Which, in her time, he did.

She looked at him, but he didn't meet her eyes. For a moment she thought he was checking out her chest, but then he spoke.

"What house are you?" He had been trying to figure out who she was by her house tie. Dumbledore had confiscated hers as she had the double-lined stripe tie that wasn't a part of this generation's uniform and would've stuck out like a sore thumb. Her new one was waiting in her trunk.

"I have faith you'll figure it out." She replied walking over to a table and hopping up onto it.

She'd done it again. Was she being coy, flirting? 'Since when do I flirt? With anyone, let alone an older man?' Hermione wondered, internally scolding herself for her senseless behavior. This was not good.

Hermione hopped off the table primly, and, blushing furiously at her unexpected attitude, brushed past Sirius and out of the Library.

What she didn't know was that Sirius spent his entire charms class asking the Ravenclaws if she was one of theirs.

"Pads," James said clapping Sirius on the back, "If you don't shut it about this library girl, I'm going to go mad."

Sirius couldn't believe the injustice of that statement. "Oi! You didn't stop talking about Evans for six years! I think I get one afternoon of curiosity, you owe me that much."

"He's got a point, mate." Murmured Remus, leaning across the aisle. He was considerably quieter than his friends, out of respect to Professor Binns. Not that Binns noticed. That was just Remus' nature.

"When did this become about me?" James asked, half grinning. "I've already got the girl. Which reminds me-" He turned back to Sirius, "why do you care?"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders and went back to doodling on his 'notes'. "I dunno. It's just weird we haven't seen her around is all."

"She might be a Slytherin." Interjected Peter from Remus' other side.

"Nah." Replied Sirius, "She blushes."

The boys all nodded their heads in unison, as if this settled the matter. As far as they were concerned, it did.

"Which leaves Hufflepuff." Remus concluded.

"I thought we'd dated all the Hufflepuffs over fifth year." Said Sirius, leaning his chair back on the back two legs.

"You mean _you _dated all the Hufflepuffs over fifth year." Stated Peter.

"Remus helped. A little." Chuckled Sirius. He really couldn't argue the truth.

"Besides, who said she was over fifth year?" Asked James with a smirk that Remus adopted.

"Pervert." Stated Remus casually.

"Hey!" Sirius was mildly offended and had objected loudly enough that Binns paused in his lecture. Once he cleared his spectral throat and continued his recitation Sirius went on, "No forth year is built like that. Not a chance." Of this, he was absolutely certain.

"If you say so." James muttered.

"Cad."

"Re-mus!" Whined Sirius. As if he could really contest that moniker. After all, he was _Sirius Black_.

They were all silent for a moment.

"Who is she then?" Asked Peter, casting the question into the void.

And for this, none of them had an answer.

_A/N: What do you think of our beloved Marauders? Got anything to say? Review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. At all. In any way._ _Don'_ _t even think it. This is fan fiction, and I'm not making any money. _

_A/N: Thanks for all the watches- don't think I mentioned how much I appreciate those. Also, all you reviewers, thank you thank you thank you. At the moment, I'm keeping my chapters short and sweet in hopes that a) you won't get bored halfway through, and b)when it gets to a stopping point you'll still be wanting just a little bit more. And so-_

"Minnie!" Exclaimed James from the armchair he was sprawled over sideways.

The other Marauders looked up in unison from their individual activities: Studying for Remus and Peter, whereas Sirius was occupied floating Peter's books and supplies one by one.

"Potter!" Was the only admonishment McGonagall could summon the energy for at the moment. She turned around to help someone through the portrait hole but, finding her help wasn't needed, she turned around to address the Common Room at large.

"We have a new student in Gryffindor Tower this year." McGonagall announced crisply. "This is Hermione Granger, a seventh year from Ipswitch school for girls. I expect you all to make her feel welcome." She looked around the room sternly, throwing a threatening look at the Marauders. "Miss Evans?"

A pretty redhead broke off from her table of study partners to flounce toward the new girl.

"Hey, it's Toast girl." Said James, poking Sirius.

"I think you mean 'Library Girl'." Corrected Sirius with a grin.

"I think you both mean 'Hermione'." Said Remus quietly.

Most of the other students had gone back to their own business, but the Marauders continued to stare at the new girl. They watched McGonagall introduce Lily and Hermione, Hermione's shy blush, Lily gamely taking the girl under her wing. Literally, Lily wrapped an arm around a startled Hermione's shoulders, making James chuckle at his girlfriend's greeting.

Sirius wasn't looking at Lily. He was too busy watching Hermione. He saw her smile at something Lily said. He saw her brush her extremely curly hair out of her face with her fingers. He watched the sway of her hips as she walked with Lily to the table full of sixth and seventh year girls.

"Hey," Remus' voice sounded near him and a lightly scarred hand reached past him to nudge James' dangling foot. Once Remus had gotten James' attention, he leaned over to stage-whisper, "Get her over." He jerked his head over to Lily and the new Hermione with a smile.

"Lily..."

"I had wondered at the new trunk, but-" The redhead went on.

"Liiiiily..." She closed her eyes for a second, fighting a smile.

"Do you have your classes picked out?" Lily asked politely once she'd reopened her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm getting my schedule tomorrow at breakfast." Replied Hermione, fighting a smile of her own.

"Liiiily..."

"I don't think he's going to stop." Hermione stated with a smile.

"He's really not." Lily said, shaking her head and laughing to herself. "Shall we?"

To this, Hermione nodded and took Lily's proffered hand. Lily seemed to be a 'touchy feely' type. Harry was the same way, and this comforted Hermione more than she could say. She let herself be lead over to the comfortable armchairs near the fire where the Marauders lounged. Maybe with Lily there she'd be able to get over her embarrassment at the the morning's hair debacle. Not to mention the library situation. She prayed that Sirius had already forgotten about that.

"Library Girl!" James greeted her cheerfully.

So much for that. Hermione's cheeks were instantly the same color as the chairs as she dropped down to sit on the floor, keeping the low table between her and the Marauders. James had turned himself in the chair to a more conventional position and pulled a giggling Lily onto his lap.

"So. I'm James," James began, gesturing to himself with a seductive sweeping hand motion. "This sandy-haired bugger is Remus," Remus gave a friendly smile. "The one hiding under his defense book is Peter" A hand shot up from behind the tome, "And you already know Sirius." James finished.

It took every effort to remain expressionless during introductions, but Hermione pulled it off.

"I'm Hermione." It was odd, introducing herself to people she already knew.

"We know." Sirius stated cockily.

"I should think so, considering Professor McGonagall just announced it." Quipped Hermione. It was as if the mildly mocking words had sprung from her mouth of their own accord, fighting with Sirius was just so natural to Hermione. At least that hadn't changed.

Remus snorted with restrained laughter.

"Who said we needed McGonagall to announce it for us to know who you are? Think you're that mysterious?" Sirius shot back, annoyed she'd called him on his swagger.

"What would you know about mystery? I hadn't been in this school for five minutes before I knew all about the _famous _Marauders." Hermione stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Is that so?" Asked Sirius with a smile that screamed 'Prove it.' to Hermione.

"Yes it is so." Said Hermione. Sirius made a beckoning hand gesture and Hermione, not to be proven wrong, filled her lungs with air and proceeded.

"Sirius Black: ladies man. Made a point of conquests in all four houses. Considered by most of the conquered to be an absolute playboy. His trademark move would be leaving before sunrise with a pair of silver earrings to remember him by. A good third of the girls in school have matching jewelry thanks to you.

"James Potter: lover _and _fighter. All lovey dovey now, but it took six years of hard work to get Lily Evans.

"Remus Lupin: the kind and quiet prefect. The most studious, and the sweetest boy most girls could hope to meet. Then Peter Pettigrew."

Hermione sucked in a breath, stopping herself from saying something along the lines of 'dirty rat and murderous traitor'. "Peter's like the little brother you never had."

In reality she had, of course, not gotten all that from gossip. She'd heard countless stories from Sirius and Remus about their school days.

While Remus was blushing by the end of her assessment, Sirius was red for a different reason.

"What you think you're some kind of know-it-all?" He asked nastily.

"It doesn't take much to know more than you." Hermione pressed her lips together. She was never as harsh as when she was fighting with Sirius. Something about him just made her meaner.

It was at this point that Hermione was brought back to her situation. A quick scan of the group and all eyes were on her and Sirius. Sirius had gone blotchy with frustration, which was objectively quite funny though Hermione wasn't in a position to appreciate it at the moment.

Humiliated with how she'd slipped into sparring with Sirius, Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth and jumped up off the floor. For the second time that day she'd mistaken the person in front of her for someone she knew. Without further ado, and with her hand still clamped over her mouth, Hermione marched out of the Common Room.

Sirius Black was shell shocked. And well, why shouldn't he be? He'd just gotten into a snit with Hermione. She had picked a fight with him. But no one ever picked a fight with Sirius Black. Girls loved him. He was their god. This new girl had just waltzed into _his _common room, been _rude _to him, and left him sitting there with no apology.

'Oh Merlin.' Thought Sirius, 'I'm turning into James.'

Sirius was brought out of his trance by Remus slapping him on his back.

"Sirius," Remus laughed openly, "You've just been shot down."

"Now, I know you haven't much experience with this, Sirius," Started Peter, "But if you go to Madame Pomfrey, I'm sure she can get you a potion for shock."

James gently shifted Lily off of him to go sit by his best friend.

"You alright, mate?" He asked, actual concern in his voice.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Sirius confirmed, the first time he'd spoken since Hermione had left. His face spread with a smile. "That one has a temper." He thought for a moment. "I kind of like it."

James roared with laughter. "Mate, you'd like a dragon if it wore a skirt."

Sirius couldn't help but laugh with his friends. Lily looked on with undisguised bemusement. Some girls would never really understand boys.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." Hermione knocked her head onto her headboard in time with her words.

God, why did she let Sirius get to her like that? He had barely said anything, and she'd rushed to be an absolute bitch to one of the only people she knew in this time. It was like she could either be a mooning idiot around him or an evil harpy. What about that comfortable in-between she had with the other boys she knew? Where the hell was that?

She flopped backwards on the bed. She knew it was hers because it was the only one without personal items adorning the bedside table and wall space around it. She almost cried, she could feel the tears sting her eyes, but there was a soft knock on the door. So, carefully quelling her tears, Hermione got up and opened the door. It was Lily.

"It wasn't locked." Hermione said.

"I thought I'd give you the option to tell me to go away." Lily stated gently.

'Whoa. It's like having Mum here.' Thought Hermione as Lily smoothed down a bit of Hermione's hair.

"I came up to let you know that dinner's in a few minutes. I could bring you up a plate if you're not up for it. Or the boys could sneak you down to the kitchens." Lily offered.

"Why would they do that? I just told one of them that he was an arrogant playboy." Hermione's voice shook. Dammit.

"I don't think you actually said arrogant, but believe me, I've said much worse. Insults just bounce off of Potter and Black, they're too sure of themselves to let anything affect them. Besides, I think Remus is quite taken with you." Lily finished with a nudge in Hermione's direction which got Hermione to let out a small chuckle.

"So, dinner? I haven't eaten all day." Hermione changed the subject not-so-smoothly.

"Well you won't find a better meal outside Hogwarts, I can assure you that." Lily said, set to lead Hermione out of the room and back to the crowd.

"Actually, can I ask a favor?" Hermione said seriously, as if she were about to ask Lily to wrestle a shark.

"Yeah, what do you need?" Lily looked equally serious.

"I need an elastic for my hair." Hermione said with a pout. "It's been bothering me all day."

Lily smiled, nodded, and summoned one from her bedside table. 'Clearly,' thought Hermione, 'She understands how distressing it is to go about the day with your hair falling in your face.'

With a few deft movements, Hermione had brought her mess of hair into a neat bun on the back of her head.

"Wow." Lily enthused, circling around Hermione to admire her handiwork. "I never would've realized, but you have beautiful bone structure, and such a graceful neck."

Hermione blushed and thought it preposterous that Harry's mother, a stunning girl herself, had just complimented her. This was the first time her looks had really been remarked upon, most of her praise came in appreciation for her brains.

"Thanks." Hermione shrugged. "Erm. Shall we?" She gestured to the door.

"Of course! Come on." Lily quickly took her hand and had her out the door before Hermione could say 'Encyclopedia'.

_A/N: OK, so. This chapter makes me a bit nervous. I almost kept going, but realized that what I had in mind would be a little much. For this chapter at least. _

_So, what are you thinking? If you liked it, review. If you didn't, review. If you're name starts with the letter M, review._


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? No, I don't own Harry Potter. This is fan fiction._

_A/N: I should probably answer some questions: _

_I don't really know how often I'll update. I like to have at least an idea of what the next installment is going to be before I put up the current one. But as for a formal outline- it's not too rigid._

_Sorry, but in my time-travel world, not only will Hermione not change the future, but she can't. If she had changed something in the past, the events leading up to her time travel in the first place wouldn't have happened, and she wouldn't have been sent back. The future is, in some ways, the way it is because of her. It's all very complex, but no. The future is, in this case, set._

_Also, I'd like to thank my thoughtful reviewers, my much-appreciated watchers, and all of my readers. In any case-_

Sirius and Remus were as pink-cheeked as if they'd been sunburned. But that didn't stop their friends.

"Remus is _so__** sweet.**_" James' falsetto imitation rung out.

"Sirius Black...Playboy." Peter was half mocking and half reverent.

"Would you shut it? If Lily can get her to forgive me, she'll be down here any second!" Sirius hissed, embarrassment evident in his voice.

"Yeah, and if Lily thinks you're making fun of her, you'll have one less girlfriend." Remus threatened James. This, of course, worked. James shut his trap faster than eyes could follow.

"I thought so." Muttered Sirius.

"Wup-a" Peter muttered.

"Wormtail, agreeing with the sentiment here, but what the bloody hell was that?" Remus laughed. "It's more like '_Whick-tish'" _He perfectly reproduced the sound of a whip.

"And how exactly would you know what that sounds like, mm?" James asked, eyebrows raised.

"Been spending some time in the Room of Requirement, have you?" Sirius grinned.

"So tell us, who is it that plays 'Mistress of the Night', because I definitely want to take her out."

Lily's voice startled all four boys out of their teasing. 'At least I'm not the only one beet red now.' thought Sirius.

The boys were stunned silent, and it was Hermione's enthusiastic laugh that broke the spell of naughty thoughts running through their' minds.

As Sirius looked at her with her head thrown back in laughter, he couldn't help but gulp. His eyes wandered slowly from the two undone buttons up the column of her throat, which wasn't obscured by bushy curls, to her full lips that were parted in a grin. A couple locks of hair had come out of her bun and the impulse to reach up and tuck them back in momentarily immobilized Sirius. He couldn't do that any more than he could grab her by the hand and drag her up the boys' staircase. That didn't mean he didn't want to though.

He shook himself and turned back to his friends, about to cover with something clever and cool. Turns out, he didn't need to as Remus had a slightly glazed look to him as well and James was still gaping at his girlfriend. Peter was Peter and had no idea what was going on, poor thing.

Eyes still sparkling with mirth, Lily and Hermione linked arms and headed out the portrait hole for dinner. Sirius was about to wave a hand in front of James' face when he snapped out of it.

"I'm in love with her." He stated.

"We know." Peter smiled.

"No, _really._ I'm in love with her." James said.

"All because of that?" Sirius asked.

"Pads, you don't get it. She's not disgusted by girls! Do you have any idea the possibilities?" James crowed.

"Never ever, ever ever, ever going to happen, Prongs. Sorry." Peter said with absolute certainty.

"I can still dream!" Whined James.

"I thought she _was_ your dream girl?" Asked Remus.

"She is! Just because I don't want to be with anyone else doesn't mean I'm not making plans to spice up our sex life." James said, as if this was totally obvious.

"You don't have a sex life." Remus reminded him.

"Still..." James let the thought trail off as he got up to follow the girls.

Remus leaned over to consult with Sirius.

"Did you see her hair?" Remus asked with a smile.

"What kind of poof notices a girl's hair?" Asked Peter, also getting up. "She looked like McGonagall."

This earned identical smirks from Remus and Sirius.

"Always was a bit hot for teacher." Remus said quietly to Sirius as they got up to follow their friends out of the portrait hole.

"You would be." Sirius said with a laugh and shoved his friend in the shoulder.

Hermione focused on getting her potato onto her fork. She put all her concentration on spearing the starchy vegetable and not looking up. She knew that if she looked up, she'd have to meet the eyes of Sirius Black. And when she met his eyes she would be overcome with a wave of either anger or lust. At the moment, she wasn't sure which was preferable. So she stabbed her potato, starred at it, and popped it in her mouth, all with her head firmly bent over her food.

"Hermione?"

Her head jerked up, it was an involuntary reaction to her hearing her name. That being said, it was the lust that prevailed as her eyes scanned Sirius' features. It was the lust that seemed to take up every last corner of her poor hormonal mind. It was the lust that made her smile at him and cock her head to the side in question. Really, she had no control over herself.

"I'm- er. Sorry. You know. About earlier." Sirius' halting apology was punctuated by a very loud-

"Awwwww!" That came from the other Marauders in unison before they went back to their food as if nothing had happened.

"Don't worry about it, Sirius. Sorry about the whole- um, earrings thing." Hermione said. Best to get it all out of the way early on.

"Hey, I'm a classy guy." Sirius smiled easily.

"I always suspected." Hermione returned his smile with a sense of deja vu. So many of her fights with Sirius had ended like this: with him joking to make her feel better. It always worked.

Hermione's mind wandered to Sirius' older counterpart. She couldn't believe he'd never said anything. Sirius couldn't keep his mouth shut for all the galleons in gringotts, and yet he hadn't breathed a word of having met her in the past. It suddenly occurred to her that maybe the nostalgic feeling she had fighting with the teenaged Sirius was the reason why adult Sirius was always picking fights. Maybe he missed Past Hermione the way she missed Future Sirius. Which begged the question- just how long was she going to be stuck here?

Hermione shook her head to clear the thought.

When she looked up again, Sirius was smiling her. 'He is so sexy.' Thought Hermione before she could stop herself. 'No, no I did not just think Sirius Black was sexy. I didn't!' Screamed Hermione's conscience.

"Hey, are you getting your class schedule tomorrow?" James asked from beside Sirius. He had one hand around Lily and the other was fervently shoveling food into his mouth. It amazed Hermione that he could talk with the rapid pace he was setting for himself.

"Yeah. I'm taking something like eight classes, I think." Hermione went over her schedule in her head, ticking off Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Defense, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, and Astronomy. It took her a minute to notice that the others were looking at her strangely.

"Eight classes? For N.E.W.T.s?" Asked Lily.

"Why would you want to put yourself through all that- that- that work?" Inquired Peter.

"I like studying. It's fun." Hermione really didn't know how else to explain. It was wonderful to learn a new skill. She'd been like that her whole life, she was reading Jane Austen at eight, college textbooks at ten, and when she got her Hogwarts letter, part of the thrill was knowing that she had a whole new world to explore.

"Well, Moony's taking seven, and he's the biggest geek we know." James stated matter-of-factly.

"I guess that makes me the new geek." Hermione stated cheerfully. "I practically live in the library."

"Ah. I know a lot of fun things to do in the library. Maybe I'll come by and we can get lost in the stacks, hm?" Sirius grinned at Hermione from across the table.

Hermione's face flushed. She didn't know whether or not he was joking. She didn't know whether or not she wanted him to be.

She mentally threw her attraction for her best friend's godfather to the back of her mind. But then it was just in the back of her brain instead of the front. Again, Hermione focused on her food.

"Hey" Said a quiet voice from beside her a few minutes later.

Hermione looked up at Remus, his blue eyes looked even bluer than usual, noted Hermione.

"You look a little stressed. Sirius isn't freaking you out is he?" He commented lightly.

"I'm fine." Hermione smiled at him.

"I know it's weird starting in a new school, but we'll take care of you, got it?" Remus said quietly so that only Hermione could hear.

"Got it." She breathed, letting the tension fall out of her bones for a moment.

"Good." He slung an arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze before letting go.

Hermione could smell his cedar-y Remus smell when he'd hugged her. It reminded her of Grimmauld Place and it's library. It was wonderful to know that in almost twenty years, Remus would still smell like Remus.

_A/N: Oh teenage boys..reminded myself of high school for a minute there. _

_Also- I have a poll up on my profile if you're interested in checking it out. It's relevant (ish) to the story._

_Anyway, Questions? Comments? Thoughts in general? REVIEW!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Blah blah blah I don't own Harry Potter, blah blah._

It had been three very long weeks. Three long weeks of studying. Three weeks of classes. Three weeks of Hermione being someplace that she really oughtn't have been.

It had been three weeks of Hermione walking around in a castle filled to the brim with ghosts. Not ghosts like Nearly Headless Nick, but the kind that break your heart every single time you see them.

"Hi Hermione." Alice caroled as she strolled into the dormitory.

"Hi Alice." Hermione dourly replied. Alice was one of Hermione's ghosts. She couldn't look at the girl's round and cheerful face and not see Neville. Worse, she couldn't look at her without remembering with stunning clarity her trip to St. Mungo's. She didn't hear the gentle patter of Alice's footsteps on carpet. She heard the scuffling of hospital slippers on the hard floor of the mental ward. She didn't see Alice's cupcake pajamas. She saw Alice's loose hospital gown. She didn't see Alice as she was, she saw Alice as she would be.

Hermione was able to carefully repress these feelings with James and Lily. She could see the time she spent with them as a beautiful anomaly- a chance to get to know people that, if the world was fair, she would've considered a second set of parents. She was able to tell herself that their sacrifice was inevitable. That what happened to them was the greatest factor in defeating Voldemort. That even now (or rather, the future) their lives and deaths were shaping the world.. She could not, in any way, feel that way about Alice. Neville should've had his parents, there was no two ways about it.

Luckily, Alice didn't take Hermione's attitude personally. She seemed to assume that Hermione was just another melancholy teenager who missed home.

"Working on homework?" Alice asked curiously, peering at the large book on Hermione's lap.

"No. Just reading." Hermione replied. Try as she might, conversation with Alice was just too hard. So instead she gave the bare minimum in information. So far, she felt terribly. It wasn't Alice's fault that she was haunting Hermione. She didn't know.

"The Marauders are looking for you." Alice said cheerfully.

"Excellent." Hermione snapped her book shut. Thank heavens she had an excuse to leave the room. "Common Room?" She asked.

"Yep." Alice's muffled voice came from her closet. Hermione knew she was trying to find a Hogsmeade outfit for her date with her boyfriend, and so left her to it.

Sirius, Remus, and James were waiting in the Common Room, heads together. Hermione crept up behind them, leaned over the couch, and stuck her head in between Remus' and Sirius'.

"What're you talking about?" The boys twitched at getting caught. James looked guilty, the others just smug.

In one fluid movement, Sirius hooked his arm around Hermione and pulled her over the back of the couch simultaneously twisting her so that she sat on his lap, feet resting on Remus' legs.

The boys laughed as Hermione smacked Sirius on the side of the head.

"You could've broken my neck." She scolded. She knew it wasn't true- Fred and George frequently pulled similar moves trying to catch her off guard.

"Nah. James would never let me kill someone- Head Boy and all." Sirius said, smiling down at her.

"So what were you plotting?" Hermione asked with narrowed eyes in James' direction.

"Nothing." Remus gave her his most innocent expression. Admittedly, he was the only one with any hope of pulling it off. Not that it worked on Hermione, but it was nice of him to try.

"I believe that as much as I believe Filch is planning a marriage proposal to one of you." Hermione said, just as sweetly.

"Do you really want to know?" James raised an eyebrow.

Hermione carefully stared down each of the boys in turn, wondering if it was worth it to try to stop whatever they were planning. Eventually, she decided in the negative.

"No." Hermione voiced her conclusion aloud.

"Didn't think so." Sirius smirked.

"How do you put up with them?" She asked Remus with a smile-as if the others weren't there.

"Years of exposure. I've built up an immunity." He replied very seriously. Hermione could see the twinkle in his eye that gave him away though.

"So," Hermione reclaimed her legs from Remus' lap and slid between the two boys on the couch. They obligingly scooted over to give her space. "What brings me to the Common Room? Alice said you were looking for me."

"Ah, yes." James gestured to the notice board where a new sheet of paper was hanging. "Hogsmeade trip this weekend. And since you've never been,"

"You're coming with me." Sirius slung an arm around her shoulders.

"And me." Remus copied the move.

"And Pete." James finished.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Because we don't want you to get lost in the bad part of town." Sirius said.

"And by 'bad part of town', we mean it's one seedy bar." Remus continued.

"I would go as well, but I'm taking Lily out on our first date." James beamed, not looking disappointed at all to be leaving his friends for the day.

"What's to say I don't have a date?" Hermione said. She wasn't really serious, but a tiny part of her was annoyed that they would assume she wouldn't be asked. She regretted her comment quickly though because the boys' faces fell and they removed their arms from her shoulders.

"Well I suppose-" Remus started.

"I mean, if you're going with someone-" Sirius said at the same time.

"I'm not." Hermione said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly, but she didn't care. She hadn't meant them to take it as a rejection. In fact, she was kind of flattered that they thought the idea of her having a date was a possibility. "I'd love you guys to show me around. Please." She looked earnestly between the boys.

Remus was back to smiling, but Sirius was the one that pulled her into a bear hug that upset her from her seat. She tumbled to the floor, dragging Sirius with her.

"Told you! No girl can resist the charms of Sirius Black!" He declared from the floor.

Remus and James laughed at the scene their friend was making. Hermione was laughing as well, until she realized she was laying on the floor in the arms of the boy she'd developed quite a crush for over the past few weeks. She blushed to an embarrassing degree and extricated herself from his grasp.

"I have studying to do." She stood up, smoothed her now rumpled clothing, and walked out of the room and towards her dormitory with as much dignity as possible.

Sirius was sad that Hermione's presence was so fleeting. He had been looking forward to teasing her. It was born out of the same impulse that little boys had to tug on a girl's pigtails, but he couldn't help it. It wasn't as though he were the only boy who'd noticed either.

Everywhere they went it seemed like boys' eyes scanned Hermione. He could tell, but obviously she couldn't. It was to the point where he was giving any boy in the area death threats with his own eyes.

It was getting bad enough that he would get touchy even with James and Remus slinging an arm around Hermione, which had become something of a habit for the three taller Marauders, much to the horror of the female population. However, it was Peter that he was worried about. He didn't think that Hermione was interested, far from it. But he had been watching Peter for the past week or so. He would watch her study with an almost hungry look in his eyes. He was stuttering. He was flushing. He even tripped when she would make an offhand comment in his general direction. All signs pointed to Peter having a crush on Hermione. He'd just have to get there first.

It wasn't until Remus whistled to get his attention that Sirius realized he'd been studying the wall.

"Yeah?" He pretended he hadn't been doing anything abnormal.

"I just asked why you hadn't gotten a date for Hogsmeade." Remus said almost casually.

"No reason." Sirius wasn't sure he wanted to announce his interest in the group's second female friend just yet.

"Is it because of a certain curly-headed girl?" James asked with the shadow of a smirk playing on his lips.

"Nope. Just didn't feel like the pressure of a date is all." Sirius said, getting annoyed.

"Are you sure it's not because she has hips that won't quit and hair that's as soft as the morning sun playing on the ripples of the black lake?" James asked, a full out smile spreading out across his face.

"What?" Sirius asked, blushing from collar to hairline.

"To quote Pete verbatim." James said.

"I'm not sure he'd like you repeating that." Remus said, quirking an eyebrow.

"You know as well as I that he wouldn't mind my telling you lot." James said, stretching out in his chair. "My point being, Pads, that if you plan on doing anything, it's gotta be quick. You know the rules."

Sirius knew the rules. No picking up after other Marauders. Which means no exes, no cast offs, and if the girl says no to one Marauder, she says no to all four. The last bit was instituted after Peter got a crush on Evans in third year.

"Yeah, I know." Sirius said. He just had to make a move before Peter. Given Peter's usually glacial pace, this shouldn't be hard.

It was late Friday, and Hermione was ready to collapse. She sat on the Gryffindor couch that was closest to the fire, beating away the evening October chill. Her wrists were too weak to hold up a book, her fingertips were splattered with dried ink, but the finished pile of homework in front of her was enough to bring a smile to Hermione's face. She leaned back to admire the dancing flames in front of her.

"Are you done?" Lily asked, looking up from her own homework.

"Yes." Hermione sighed.

This alerted the attention of Remus Lupin, who sat on the floor to her right, reading a few chapters of his Defense book as homework.

"That's just not fair." He said with a grimace that caused Hermione to smile, smug over her ability to finish her work ahead of schedule and before her other two studious friends.

"You'll get over it. Promise. I'd offer to help you, but I know that'd only piss you off." She said, closing her eyes and petting his sandy hair.

It was soothing: sitting in front of the fire, stroking Remus' soft hair, and listening to the quiet radio that Lily had on while she studied. She could almost get used to this way of life.

_A/N: Thanks for reading guys. Check out the poll on my profile. Now about this chapter: Like it? Hate it? Let me know by clicking the little review submission button. You know you want to... _


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it's all JK. _

_A/N: So it feels like ages since I've updated, but this chapter was being especially troublesome. Read on! (Also, guys- like a grillion faves/watches/reviews. You guys_ _completely rock and have my undying affection.)_

"No."

Hermione watched her pale self shake her head.

"No. Just-no." She said again. She was trying to make herself sound forceful and in command. It came out a bit quieter and squeakier than she'd have liked. Lily's warm hands closed over her shoulders comfortingly.

"Why don't you like it?" Lily pouted, looking like a perfect painted doll.

Hermione didn't know what to say. After all, it had been she that woke up late. It had been Hermione that had requested situation-appropriate wardrobe help from Lily and Alice. But this? This wasn't what Hermione was used to.

Her usual downtime ensemble was a pair of jeans and one of the Gryffindor tank tops or t-shirts that Dumbledore had kindly provided. She took her role as 'one of the guys' very seriously. Even in her own time. At least her fears weren't actualized in becoming a duplicate of one of her roommates. Really, she was half expecting something along the lines of what Lily and Alice were wearing, and really, that just wasn't 'her'. She looked on either side of her to compare herself to the other girls.

Alice was very conservative in a red and pink blouse/skirt/jacket combo. She looked like she'd stepped out of a black and white movie with her innocent makeup and gentle golden waves of hair. She looked like cotton candy. Soft and sweet.

Lily, on the other hand, looked like a model. She wore a short green dress and darker green tights and everything about her screamed "I'm tall, glamorous, and a model. Be _very_ jealous." From her kohl-lined eyes to the high heels that would've broken Hermione's ankles, she exuded more dark appeal than a bottle of absinthe.

It was Lily's insistent voice that brought Hermione out of her reverie and back into the present.

"You said, and I quote, 'Just pick something out that's not too girly and won't clash with the guys and I'll wear it.'" Lily said, twisting Hermione's hair into her usual bun and securing it with an elastic.

"Yeah, but the Sex Pistols?" Hermione said with raised eyebrows, tugging at the dark red t-shirt she was wearing that she'd never seen before in her life.

"You're the one that refuses to listen to anything else while we're studying." Alice shrugged. "It seemed appropriate."

" 'Appropriate' may be a stretch." Hermione said dryly, but a smirk played on her lips nonetheless.

She re-examined herself in the mirror. Objectively, she had no reason to complain. She still looked like Hermione- just Hermione as if she were actually a girl and not an asexual book. The shirt was soft, comfortable, and modest. The black skirt she was wearing flared out at her hips and hit her a little above the knees, mercifully long compared to Lily's mini. She eyed the fishnets that Lily had magic-ed onto her legs. They were of a blessedly tight weave that would keep her warm, but still-

"Couldn't I just wear my school stockings?" Hermione asked, looking to Lily.

"If you really want to be the girl that goes to Hogsmeade with the most eligible bachelors in Hogwarts wearing her _uniform_, then I suppose we can't stop you." Lily said, giving her a look that said they most definitely would stop her if it came to that.

"I look-" Hermione trailed off.

"Sexy." Lily grinned into the mirror. For a second she looked so much like Harry that Hermione's heart broke with homesickness. That's what did it in the end.

"We're going to be late." Hermione said, turning away from the mirror so the others wouldn't see that her eyes had gone shiny. She hastily grabbed her wand and money bag, shoved her feet into a pair of high tops that were her only non-school shoes, and made for the door.

Lily and Alice walked with her towards the Entrance Hall, but when they got closer Alice sped ahead of them so she could meet Frank in Hogsmeade. She was certain that today would be the day that he proposed. Lily showed greater restraint, but the minute she locked eyes with James, she too skipped off to meet her date.

Following Lily's progress, it wasn't hard to spot the other Marauders. She was comforted in knowing that she was, indeed dressed appropriately as they were sporting worn t-shirts, jackets, and jeans as well. They would've passed for Muggle if it weren't for the wands sticking conspicuously out of their pockets. She made her way over to her friends through the throng of students gathered in the hall.

.

Sirius gave Remus a violent nudge in the ribs upon seeing Granger step into the hall. Remus glared at Sirius for a moment before following his gaze to land on Hermione.

"Sirius, is she wearing-" He started, looking at Sirius with raised eyebrows.

"Yep." Sirius sucked in a breath. He knew his face would be bright red if all the blood in his head hadn't rushed south at seeing the girl he fancied wearing _his _shirt.

He forced himself to stand still and retain his casual posture as opposed to the girlish jumping around he wanted to do. If it had been just he and Remus, he would've done a victory dance. As it were, he didn't think that would come off so well. So instead he just flashed his lycanthropic friend a grin that Remus returned with interest.

By the time Hermione had gotten to where they were standing, Sirius and Remus had resumed the beautiful nonchalance that they'd perfected over the years. Of course, their cool was blown the moment Hermione's smiling face appeared at Sirius' side. Both boys' faces broke out in stupid grins. Sirius swung his arm heavily onto Hermione's shoulders.

"We have terrible news, love." He said, dropping his smile and giving her his best puppy eyes. Hermione, sensing something was afoot just raised her eyebrows in question and assumed a wary stance.

"We're afraid Peter's gone and spilled potion all over himself and Slughorn." Remus said, moving to face Hermione. He had adopted a pitiful expression of his own. "He'll be in detention for the rest of the day."

"And while we realize that three Marauders are better than two, and four better than three for that matter, " Sirius went on, raising his voice and dropping his arm from her shoulders to rest a hand lightly on her waist.

"We have hope that you'll still allow us," At this point in his speech, Remus dropped to his knees and took one of her hands in his as if to worship it. "your humble admirers, to squire you about Hogsmeade,"

Sirius genuflected as well, taking hold of one of her calves. At this point, there was definitely an audience- something the boys lived for. Hermione's face had turned the most vibrant shade of magenta Sirius had seen in awhile which only egged him on.

"Please, Oh fairest Hermione, allow us to take you 'round the shops," Sirius bellowed for the whole hall to hear.

"-And to the pub," Interjected Remus as if he were reciting Shakespeare. Badly.

"-And to buy you lovely trinkets to adorn your dainty wrists" Sirius went on. Hermione was looking down at them with all the quiet fear one would usually reserve for a pair of venomous snakes. She tried to take a step back slowly, but Sirius' hold on her lower leg prevented this.

"My life!" Sirius exclaimed.

"My love!" Remus shook her hand (which he still held) for emphasis.

"Milady!" Sirius gestured to the now laughing crowd that surrounded them.

"Say you'll have us!" Remus pleaded, and for his tone he could've been proposing marriage. He and Sirius were looking up at Hermione with shining, hopeful eyes.

Really, Hermione had no idea what had happened. One moment she was pushing through a thick crowd, the next she had the Marauders on their knees and there was a good six feet of separation between her and the next nearest student.

"O-ok?" Hermione choked out when it was clear that Remus and Sirius were waiting for an answer.

The reaction was immediate. The rest of the students in the hall burst into applause with a only a few exceptions. Some of the ladies in the hall were looking at Hermione accusingly as if she'd put them up to such a show, and in their unanimous opinions, it wasn't funny at all.

Upon Hermione's answer, Remus gallantly placed a kiss on the back of Hermione's hand and rose. Naturally, Sirius wasn't to be outdone and hopped to his feet. With a practiced twirl that spoke volumes to his aristocratic upbringing, he dipped Hermione and with a loud pop kissed her on the cheek before righting her. Hermione decided to let the boys have their fun.

Remus and Sirius took bows in all directions, practically sweeping the floor with their hair, and Hermione gave one ladylike curtsey that earned a wolf whistle from James before dragging the showboating teenagers out of the hall by their arms. She breezed by Filch and out the door finally clearing her head with the crisp autumn air.

"Was that _entirely _necessary?" Hermione inquired. She was trying to be stern, but it was hard to maintain as she had to swivel her head from side to side in order glare at each of them in turn whilst walking briskly toward the village.

Sirius' and Remus' exchanged a glance over Hermione's head.

"Absolutely." Remus stated solemnly.

"Meant every word of it, pet." Sirius said with a cheeky grin. He decided to press his luck and put a casual arm around Hermione's waist.

At that precise moment, they were overtaken by James and Lily. Lily was hanging back slightly, clearly unsure if she should be laughing or outraged on Hermione's behalf. James however wasted no time in jumping onto Sirius' back.

Sirius roughly pushed James off of him which only made James laugh harder. He grabbed Lily by the hand before quick stepping it to Hogsmeade. He loudly called back in a dreamily mocking voice, "Ah! To be young and in love!" throwing a wink the group's way. Hypocritically, he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend and nuzzling her hair.

Seeing this, Remus, Hermione, and Sirius chorused "Ah! To be young and in love!" with even more sappy mocking than even James could muster before dissolving into giggles (though if you asked the Marauders later, they were chuckling. It was manly.)

"Remus, how?" Hermione asked, eyes wide.

It was nearly noon, and the Marauders had been good to their word, dragging Hermione in and out of every shop Hogsmeade had to offer. Just now, they were exiting Honeydukes.

"What?" Remus asked, genuinely not knowing to what Hermione was referring. To him it was not only reasonable, but inevitable that he leave with no less than three large sacks full to the brim with Honeydukes chocolate.

"Where does it all go?" She asked, moving around him in a circle to ensure that she hadn't missed him gaining some one hundred pounds. But no. He was a trim as ever, a picture of lean muscle with even a hint of lanky height to him. Life just wasn't fair sometimes, Hermione thought.

"What do you mean?" Remus was really confused and kept trying to turn with her as she circled him.

"By all accounts, you should be massive." Hermione stated as fact. "It's a physical impossibility to consume that much chocolate and stay fit like you are."

"Well, see, Mooney and I like to go for a bit of a run from time to time." Sirius said, with a conspiratorial smirk in Remus' direction.

"Keeps us trim." Remus said, an easy smile on.

They were headed to the Three Broomsticks for a butter beer and lunch, Sirius' treat- he insisted. When they got to the door, there was a slight problem. It wouldn't open.

First Remus tried, pushing as firmly as one can with three bags of chocolate, two books, and a handful of new quills can. After two tries, he acquiesced to Sirius' insistence that he could get it open. After throwing his shoulder into it, the door finally gave way. About an inch.

It quickly became apparent that the reason the door couldn't and wouldn't open was that there were people in the way. In fact, the bar was so packed that actually fitting three more students in would be an impossibility- not to mention the wait for a table.

Sirius' stomach chose that moment to let out an almighty growl. His face crumpled into an adorable pout, but Remus' broke into a bright smile.

"I-" Remus said with a voice that proclaimed brilliance, "-have a better idea."

And with that he set off briskly down the street, Sirius and Hermione following with enthusiasm.

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_A/N: Love it? Hate it? Worth the wait? I love reviews in all forms and from all readers. Please and Thank you._


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc. You know the drill._

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"I told you to call me Remus." Remus sighed for the fourth time, smiling.

"I is sorry, sir- I mean, Remus." The tiny elf named Trinket grinned up at him. If Hermione didn't know better, she'd say Trinket had a little crush on Remus.

Sirius nudged Remus with his shoulder mockingly.

"Thanks, Trinkie." He said with a wink at the poor elf. She blushed and placed the plate of sandwiches next to the several bowls of candy and vegetables already on the table.

Sirius, Hermione, and Remus had settled on one end of the long Gryffindor Table Duplicate that sat on one side of the kitchens. Upon her arrival to the kitchens, Hermione wasn't surprised to see that it looked exactly like the kitchens of her time did. It was cavernous, bright, and full of overly helpful elves that seemed eager to serve their 'favorite students'.

In fact, the only thing out of place was Sirius' attitude. The Sirius she knew hated house-elves with a white hot passion that wasn't to be reckoned with. He had kicked poor Krecher repeatedly, she had witnessed it! But the Sirius in front of her was being, well, sweet. Condescending, but sweet.

"Pass the potatoes?" Sirius' voice broke into Hermione's consciousness from across the table and she did as he asked, blushing almost as badly as poor Trinket.

"How did you two find the kitchens?" Hermione asked. She had always wondered how the boys had gotten into enough secret rooms to make a full map of the castle.

"Ah, well. Marauders' secret, love." Sirius smiled at her. It was truly embarrassing how violently she tipped her glass over, just seeing him smile.

This of course, only made Sirius' smile wider. He brushed a foot over her ankle as if he were naturally shifting beneath the table and watched as her eyebrows shot up. Her immediate focus switched to acquiring a sandwich, and Sirius thought his face would split in half with his smug smile. He heard a cough to his right and noticed Remus hiding a grin in his hand. He was all too familiar with Sirius' technique.

Hermione noticed the subtle nudge that Sirius sent Remus under the table. It was immediately followed by an almost imperceptible shake of the head from Remus. Sirius stretched his neck, jerking his head toward the door just a little. Hermione and Remus both had smiles twitching at the corners of their mouths, but at the moment, Sirius was only paying attention to his fellow Marauder. Again, Mooney shook his head. Sirius shot him a glare, that morphed into a pleading look. Remus ignored it, taking another bite of sandwich.

Hermione had seen this dance before between the Weasley twins, and once with Ron and Harry. Never, under any circumstances had it been used to get _her_ alone with a boy. The fact that it was a boy she had a crush on was one thing, the fact that that same boy would grow up to be a notorious murderer, playboy, and godfather to her best-friend-almost-brother was something else completely. If either of her lunch dates had been paying attention, they would've seen her eyes shifting back and forth frantically. They were busy at the moment, what with Sirius kicking Remus under the table, and Remus smiling at him oh-so-pleasantly. It would've taken an earthquake to distract them from their silent conversation.

Or Hermione falling off the bench.

Hermione's head hit the stone with a sickening smack. Her face scrunched up and she bit into her lower lip. Hard. It didn't matter. Her lip didn't matter, and neither did her head. She tried to roll over and curl up into a ball, but was suddenly aware of a strong arm holding her up. A large, warm hand was trying to pry her arm away from her stomach, but it only made her grip her twisting organs harder.

"Mooney, check- see if she'd got a concussion." Sirius' dark voice sounded just beside her. It was so close that Hermione must've been sitting on his lap, not that she cared at the moment.

Slowly, Hermione felt her internal organs unclench as the pain receded. She kept her eyes shut as the world seeped back into her consciousness via her other senses.

She could feel that she was indeed settled on a pair of strong, familiar legs. She could feel Sirius' arm supporting her shoulders and the other resting over her arms. He was gently rubbing her forearm with his thumb. She could feel Remus gently running his fingers over her scalp, trying to detect the site of injury. Sirius' warm breath was faintly tickling her neck. The pain from before was draining quickly from her body now and Hermione was able to fully register the position she was in.

She opened her eyes a little hesitantly and was greeted by several curls falling into her face. Remus had taken her hair down, she saw. Sirius brushed her hair out of her face so that she could see and searched her eyes, vaguely recalling that uneven pupils indicated brain damage. Hermione tried to get up, but the hand Sirius had on her arm shifted to her knee, effectively stopping her movement.

"You alright?" He asked softly.

"Erm. Fine." Hermione said. She could feel his fingers on her leg, brushing her skin through her fishnet stockings. She was surprised she could talk at all.

She let out a hiss when Remus' gentle fingers brushed a spot on the side of her head that sent a shock of pain through her skull. She suddenly had a splitting headache and the arms that had been holding her middle moved to her forehead, trying to tamp down the throbbing ache.

"Ah," Remus said, carefully moving her hair to confirm the location of the bump on her head. "Yeah, she needs to see Pomfrey." He muttered to Sirius.

"No kidding." Sirius said back, trying not to be short with his friend, but really.

Hermione let out a little groan and sank her head onto his shoulder, her body limp. She seemed to have given up on staying conscious. Trinket was standing by, ready to assist, along with another dozen house elves who'd dropped everything when Hermione fell down. He waved them off as well as he could considering both his hands were being used to steady the girl in his arms.

He wrapped an arm under Hermione's knees and slowly stood up, holding her to his chest. Remus held out both hands, ready to catch her if he lost his grip.

Once he was sure he wouldn't drop Hermione, Sirius set off for the door that one of the elves had opened for him. Remus and Sirius silently made their way from the basement to the Hospital Wing.

If Sirius had been thinking, he would've had Remus carry her. After all, Mooney had all that werewolf-enhanced energy and strength so the trip would've been a cinch. But Sirius wasn't really thinking. He knew that she'd be OK, but he felt that he couldn't be sure of her safety unless he delivered her to the school medi-witch personally.

That, and she was soft. He could feel her delicious curves pressed up against his body, her sweet face buried in his shoulder, her stockings making a hatch-mark pattern on his left arm. Every time she breathed out her warm breath washed over his neck and it sent tingles down his spine, making him want to-

Oh Merlin, could he be more of a pervert? She was a damsel in distress for godsake, and here he was practically copping a feel. He should be locked up.

He looked up to see Remus opening the Hospital Wing door and walking over to Madame Pomfrey's office to get her. Sirius set Hermione down on one of the beds, smoothing out her skirt as if to prove to himself that he wasn't a complete scoundrel. Madame Pomfrey bustled up to the sick girl and none too gently shoved Sirius from her side. He settled on a nearby bed next to Mooney to wait, absently shaking out the mild ache in his arms from carrying the girl across the castle.

.

"So she's fine?" James had been bugging Sirius and Remus since they'd arrived back at the dorms with Hermione. She had gone up to her room good as new, but tired. She gave Remus and Sirius each a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs. Sirius' face still felt a little numb, hours later when James, Sirius, and Remus were changing out of their day clothes and getting ready for bed.

"Yes, mate, she's fine. Don't worry." Remus said wearily, sitting down on his bed.

"Besides, she's got Lily to play nurse to her, doesn't she?" Sirius' mood had greatly improved upon Hermione's recovery.

"True." James said.

"And by 'nurse', I meant Naughty Nurse." Sirius added, earning a pillow in his face courtesy of James' chaser training.

Sirius just took the pillow and fell back onto his bed, lounging. The door scraped on the floor and in fell a very tired-looking Peter that drew the eyes of the boys in the room.

"He- he had me cleaning the _entire _potions complex." Peter said weakly. "Not just the potions room, the cauldrons, the store room- do you have any idea how many jars of leech juice I've labeled? And all without magic!" He collapsed onto his own bed without even taking his shoes off. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before asking morosely, "So how was the Hogsmeade trip with Hermione?"

Remus and Sirius shared an awkward look.

"It was alright." Remus said finally.

"Yeah, you know." Sirius shrugged, looking at his nails.

"Ugh. I was going to-" Peter rolled over, stopping himself and turning pink.

"Going to what?" Sirius asked, clenching a fist. Peter was blushing from embarrassment, Sirius was red with trying suppress his irrational jealousy over Peter's crush.

"I dunno-" Peter mumbled. "I was thinking, maybe. Ask her to, you know- go out. You know, with me." He finished, staring fixedly at his trunk.

The resulting silence in the room was deafening.

Remus and Sirius were looking anywhere but at Peter, and James' eyes were shifting between Peter and Sirius, his mouth pressed into a firm line that McGonagall would've been proud of. After almost a full minute in which all four boy's cheeks were tinging pink, James broke the silence.

"Sorry mate, but haven't you heard?" James bent nonchalantly to his trunk and pulled on a white wife-beater to sleep in.

Peter's head bounced off his bed. "Heard what? I've been in detention."

James had drawn Remus and Sirius' attentions as well. James cleared his throat.

"Well, er- Padfoot here declared his intentions to Hermione this morning, so..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't want to mention the Marauders' rule regarding going after another's girl. He didn't have to, they all knew.

Peter's face fell and he looked to Sirius for confirmation. "Is that right?" He asked. He almost sounded sad, but for the bite in his voice.

"Yep, you can ask anyone." Sirius said. It was a loose truth, but James had said it, not he. After all, one could, possibly, construe the morning's performance as Sirius staking his claim. If he had Prongs and Mooney backing up his story, Peter could hardly argue.

"But- she's not-" Peter stammered, lifting himself up on one arm to stare at Sirius.

"She's not what?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"She's not his type!" Peter burst out.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked again softly.

Peter looked at Remus as if he was stupid. "You know as well as I do that he likes the pretty girls with blonde hair and-"

"What are you trying to say?" Sirius sat up as well, eying Peter with a warning expression.

"I'm saying, she's got bushy hair and she's all fat!" Peter turned to James and Remus, oblivious to their newly unsympathetic attitudes. "He can't even let me have the dumpy ones, can he?"

Sirius was gripping his blanket, his knuckles white with fury. It was taking all he had not to hit his friend just then.

"Peter," James said coldly, "You want to stop talking."

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_A/N: Did you know that Norbert now eats non-reviewers for breakfast? Save yourself! _3


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: It's all JK's._

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The tension between the Marauders was palpable; even Hermione was distracted by their lack of distraction. Eventually she had to nose in.

"What's going on?" She whispered to Remus during Ancient Runes. He wasn't even taking notes: one of the most alarming symptoms yet.

"Nothing." For the first time that day, he smiled. It didn't help his case much though, as it was obviously fake.

"Remus-"

"Hermione-" He mocked gently.

"Something is wrong, it's not like everyone hasn't noticed. Could you please tell me what's got you all down?"

"Listen, we're guys. We don't really talk feelings or anything, so could you just drop it, please?" He looked so pleading and sweet that Hermione, for once, stopped pressing the issue.

For the past day and a half, it was like there was a cold war going on amongst the boys. She figured that something must've happened with Peter, as he spent all of yesterday in the Library- pointedly not at Hermione's table.

Not that she minded not sharing a table with the rat, but his avoidance still seemed oddly accusatory. Then there was James. He kept on looking at Sirius like he was waiting for something, whereas Sirius had spent two breakfasts in a row not eating anything. He made up for it at lunch, but it was an unheard of phenomenon all the same. The boys were trying to act normally. They were joking and refusing to pay attention in class, but it was obvious that their hearts weren't in it. It was like the whole group was upset but too stubborn to do anything about it. The castle as a whole was feeling the loss of their good humor, whether they could identify the source of the ennui or not.

.

The sound of knives and forks was prevalent at lunch that day. Sirius beside Hermione was entirely too focused on his plate, Remus and James were identically sullen next to each other. It was to the point that even Lily couldn't get them talking so she chatted somberly to Alice instead.

Hermione was pushing her food around when she felt Sirius shuffle next to her. She looked up to see him spreading his personal space out to take over the empty seat on his other side as well. For a moment Hermione's brow furrowed with confusion, but everything clicked into place. She'd seen Ron do a very similar maneuver almost four years ago. Every day for months, actually. Her head shot up and she locked eyes with a pair that were even more watery than normal.

Sure, Peter played it off as if he hadn't been meaning to sit by Sirius. He walked over to an empty seat further along the table, but Hermione wasn't fooled in the slightest. At the moment, she didn't really care that Peter was a spineless jerk. Just then all she could see was the sad slump of his shoulders, the hurt look on his face and she went pink with indignation. Who were the Marauders to snub one of their friends like that?

With an angry snap, she dropped her utensils and got up. Her hair was practically crackling with anger and her school shoes clicked dangerously on the stone floor as she marched down the table.

With a forceful yank, she pulled a spluttering Peter to his feet and practically dragged him back to the gaping Marauders.

"I don't know why you lot are fighting, but frankly, I don't care." Hermione said, glaring fiercely at the boys who were staring up at her.

"You've been friends for seven years, and friends don't ostracize each other!" She was getting loud. Too loud really, as she was attracting the attention of the rest of Gryffindor table. "I don't care if you yell or throw a fit, but you won't act like you don't care, because I can promise you that it's not worth it!" Tears were stinging her eyes. Stupid tears.

"But he-" James started, but Hermione cut him off.

"I don't care!" She reiterated semi-hysterically, shoving Peter down into the seat she recently vacated. "I don't want to know what he did, because it could not be more obvious that you three miss him. So have it out, get over it, and stop being idiots." Oh. She was crying now. Shit.

She furiously wiped her tears from her cheeks, grabbed her bag, and left the room.

.

In the end, Sirius hit Peter. Just once, to get the point across. Afterward James, Remus, and Sirius cleaned him up, healed him, and proceeded to joke and laugh about Peter's girlish scream at the moment of impact.

.

"Hermione?" Alice tried to slip into the dorm quietly, but the door's squeak ruined the soothing effect she was going for.

"Alice?" Hermione sniffled from behind her curtains. Really, no one could just let her have a cry after chewing out the Marauders, could they? "Why aren't you in class?"

"I've got a free period. I wanted to see if you were OK." Alice gently tugged at the hangings around Hermione's bed. They didn't budge.

"Hermione." Alice half-whined, half-scolded.

"Sorry." Hermione sat up and reversed the sticking charm on her curtains, allowing Alice to open them.

One look at Hermione's waterlogged eyes and pink nose had Alice sitting on the bed and pulling the girl that was usually so reserved into her arms. Hermione resisted for a second but then collapsed into tears all over again. It turned out that Alice was one of the few people in the world that knew how to handle a crying girl, gently patting her head and back, letting her get it out.

Once Hermione had quieted a little, Alice spoke tentatively, "Ruling out tears of joy, are you crying because you're angry or sad?"

This caused Hermione to let out a sad hiccup followed by more tears. "It's stupid. Just- boys. Why don't they know?"

"Know what?" Alice asked in a whisper.

"That it hurts! It doesn't matter if it's your fault or not, it still hurts when they just- just- are gone for no good reason! And you try to apologize and you don't know what to do to make it okay, but that doesn't matter!" Hermione said, her voice was ever so slightly muffled against Alice's shoulder.

"It doesn't matter if it's a stupid rat that's died or-" She paused to sniffle and continued on, "Or if they're mad over something else, or if one of them didn't get chosen for the _stupid_ triwizard tournament and wants to act like a git or some girl is being a bloody slag and getting in everyone's way or if Harry got a broom from a mass murderer- and how was I even supposed to know? And I was right in the end even if Sirius did turn out all right- stupid boys, but I _miss_ them." She finished with a sob.

By now, Hermione's tears had soaked through Alice's robes, sweater, and shirt, reaching the girl's skin.

"Er, Hermione, I thought you went to an all girl's school?" Alice said, as if this was the most confusing bit of the rant this girl was on. "And who's Harry?"

"What?" Hermione pulled her head off of Alice's shoulder. Her skull was pounding from crying so hard for so long. What had she said about Harry? Hermione's eyes flitted back and forth trying to remember what all she'd just cried about. She couldn't quite piece together everything, but she was absolutely sure that she'd just blabbed considerably more than she should've. She looked at Alice who had also been trying to decipher Hermione's speech retrospectively.

"You-" Alice looked at Hermione with outright suspicion, slowly shifting away from her.

"Ha-Harry's my brother." Hermione blurted, hoping to salvage the situation.

"You said you were an only child." Alice said, eyes unsure whether to be wide with fear or narrowed in accusation.

"He died!" Hermione said desperately.

"Sure. Sure. I'm just going to go-" Alice skipped backwards to the door. "-for a bit of a walk, um, you just stay right here." Alice turned the knob, threw the door open, and bolted out of the room. It took about ten seconds for Hermione to fall off the bed, right herself, and go after her.

Alice was speedier, there was no denying, but she wasn't quite fast enough to lose Hermione as the girls ran full-tilt through the corridors. After they careened through the first three turns, Hermione was relieved to know where they were going and became less interested in stopping Alice than making sure she got there uninterrupted.

.

It took no less than three hours for Dumbledore to convince Alice that Hermione wasn't a Death Eater. It took another hour to explain the situation, (Dumbledore thought that obliviating his students was 'morally reprehensible') and a still another hour to convince Alice that she could not ask questions about the future or tell anyone about Hermione's true origins. By the end of it all, Hermione was exhausted, Alice was comforted- even friendly, and Dumbledore was hungry. And so it was with the Headmaster as escort that the girls made their way down to the Great Hall.

After the afternoon of explanations she'd just endured, she wasn't sure she could handle apologizing to the boys for her outburst. Alice gave her hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement as they walked into the Great Hall, letting go quickly before anyone noticed their brand new camaraderie.

Hermione's eyes scanned the Gryffindor table until she saw the two black haired boys that were so distinctive. All four Marauders were there, and there was a spot next to Sirius still left open, but Hermione was consumed with first-day jitters, unsure if she could invite herself over to sit by them.

As if reading her mind, Sirius looked up from his plate to see her standing at the door. Relief coursed through her as he smiled and jerked his head to the empty seat, a silent command.

.

Sirius had been looking at the door about once every three seconds since the beginning of dinner. Remus told him he looked like a bobble-head, whatever the hell that was. But when she finally came in, Sirius couldn't have been more relieved. He knew it was an overly-hopeful move, saving a seat for her, after the bollocking she'd just given them. He didn't care. He had been so upset with Peter for being an insensitive prat, but he'd been the one to make her cry in the end. So, naturally, he felt like a bastard.

Guilt was something of a new sensation for Sirius Black, and he didn't care for it.

When Hermione sat down next to him, he had trouble going on with the plan. It was the group's policy to act like nothing had happened after a fight was over. Not officially or anything, it's just what they did. 'Forget and forgive' right? So all the guys were back to normal, mentioning neither their snit with Peter nor Hermione's earlier scolding. Except Sirius, that is.

He found himself twitching and unable to talk to Hermione, really. He wished he could apologize, but he didn't know how. Or what for.

Instead of trying to awkwardly apologize or bring up what happened earlier, Sirius waited for her to put her hand under the table. When she did, he took the opportunity and gently laced her fingers with his in a silent "I'm sorry." and gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

He had every intention of letting go and resuming dinner as if nothing had happened. But when he made a reluctant attempt to disentangle his fingers from hers, she didn't mirror his actions as he'd expected her to. Instead, she held on to his hand and started eating left-handed. No one at the table seemed to notice as Sirius re-took her hand in his. They didn't notice the faint blush creeping up Hermione's face. They didn't notice the smile flickering onto Sirius' mouth, and none of them thought it strange that Hermione's right and Sirius' left hands were absent from the table for the rest of the meal.

_A/N: Reviews make my day._

_PS- There's a poll on my profile- always forget to mention it._


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_A/N: This chapter is very Sirius/Hermione heavy. Just so ya know. Please enjoy._

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Remus stared at Lily and James cuddling in the other corner of the common room before rejoining the speculation.

"I'd give him," He paused as if calculating in his head. "'Till graduation. Probably that night." He concluded.

"Not a chance. He'll blow it by Christmas." Peter denied from his usual studying spot on the floor. Remus looked at him with a sardonic eyebrow raised. Such little faith in their common friend.

"No no no." Sirius interrupted them haughtily. "Have you seen them? I'd say he asks at Christmas, but she doesn't say yes until next fall. I mean, it's the story of their relationship, right?" He settled back into his seat next to Hermione on the couch. She was snugly nestled beside him, her head resting on the plush armrest. Casually, Sirius lifted her feet onto his lap so she could stretch out.

They hadn't talked about whatever was going on with them, and Sirius didn't really want to. He got the distinct feeling that the moment he tried to pin Hermione down, she would pull away. The last thing he wanted was to lose her, or her friendship.

That last thought made him mentally cringe. Next thing he knew, he'd be crying over songs on the wireless or drawing 'Sirius&Hermione Black' in the margins of his books. In short, he'd turn into Alice.

No. He was Sirius Black. He was testosterone personified, and Hermione was an attractive, single girl. A friend...that he had every intention of seducing. The thought of leaving her with nothing but a pair of silver earrings made his stomach churn. For Merlin's sake, did all of this really require that much thought? He liked her, she liked him...right? Bugger.

"You so sure of that, Padfoot?" Remus asked with a glint in his eye.

"WHAT?" Sirius reassured himself he hadn't been talking out loud and tried to recall what the conversation was about. Oh. Right. James and Lily.

"Care to put some money on it?" Hermione's mocking voice cut in.

"Maybe." Sirius said, flashing his sexiest grin her way.

"Ten Galleons say's it's graduation." Remus declared.

"Taken! Like he has that kind of self control-" Sirius laughed. "Ten for Christmas and a denial." They turned to Peter expectantly, but he just shook his head. No way was he going up against these two.

"Alright, I'm saying-" Hermione started. She had the cutest smirk on her face, Sirius couldn't help but note. "Proposed- and accepted- over Easter holidays, married by next fall, and pregnant over the honeymoon." She said with startling specificity.

"Er-" Remus started, unsure if he should be making bets on the reproductive activities of his friends.

"Done." Sirius said quickly.

After a moment's hesitation Remus agreed. He had noticed the unnerving confidence with which Hermione had laid out his friends' futures. Still- easy money. No way was James going to have the nerve before they were out of Hogwarts. He settled into his arm chair, briefly considering a nap.

.

"Look." Hermione whispered, lifting herself off the armrest's comfort to lean towards Sirius. She barely bothered reminding herself who he was any more as it didn't seem to have any affect on her hormones. She nudged him and pointed to Remus' peaceful sleeping form.

"Oh. So cute." Sirius fawned quietly.

"No, not cute." Hermione said thoughtfully. She studied his face, admiring the subtle criss-cross of scars that decorated one cheek. He looked so peaceful, so harmless, sitting beside the fire.

Hermione was a little startled when Sirius' fingers brushed her cheek gently. She turned her head to see him watching her. Her first thought was 'He's going to kiss me'.

Her second was more along the lines of

'_Holybleedinghell-mother'_-OW!'

For the third time in a week, she was curled into a ball from the agony tearing it's way through her midsection. This time, like the first, she was sitting in Sirius' lap.

She half expected to split in half at the middle, the jerk to her internal organs was so intense.

After about ten years (or thirty seconds, depending on the point of view) of Gehenna, Hermione's grip relaxed on Sirius' shirt. The pain that had plagued her dissipated and she let out a tiny whimper, collapsing into Sirius' concerned arms.

"Hermione?" Remus' voice was close. Sure enough, when she'd opened her eyes, his couldn't have been more than four inches away from hers. Their usually electric blue was darkened with sleep and worry. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She mumbled, turning her face to bury it in Sirius' chest.

"Come on," Remus said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let us take you to the Hospital Wing."

Hermione just shook her head and secured her arms around Sirius' neck. She could feel him shrug beneath her and sighed. Sirius smelled like soap. She wondered if he had just taken a shower or if he just naturally smelled clean. She wanted to absorb everything about that moment, the comfort, the smell, the sense of safety she got when surrounded by the Marauders. Everything. She had a feeling she'd be missing it sooner than she'd like.

.

"She seems depressed." Peter stated bluntly.

"No! She's not depressed!" Lily said worriedly, "She's a little, um- what's the word- Alice?"

"I don't know." Alice said tonelessly.

"Preoccupied." Lily concluded. "She must have a lot on her mind, she is taking all those classes."

"Maybe it's getting to her?" Sirius asked the group at large.

"No, she'd be overcompensating with her studying if that were the case, but she's even less enthusiastic about homework than you are." Remus said, running a hand through his hair.

"Moony's right." James said. "Is she sleeping enough?" He turned to Alice.

"I don't know." She said tonelessly.

"Do you think she's, erm, lovesick or something?" James asked awkwardly, it wasn't a subject he was interested in exploring in-depth.

"No, she hasn't said anything to me." Lily threw a glance in Sirius' direction which he ignored.

"Has she gotten _any_ upsetting news? Anything that would make her..." Remus trailed off hopelessly, looking over at Alice for insight.

"I don't know." Alice said tonelessly.

.

Hermione was walking the corridors, avoiding the concerned looks of her friends. Again. The sun had gone down a few hours ago and she was hoping that she'd be able to skirt the crowd in the common room, get up to the tower, and go to bed. Then again, wandering the halls of the castle until everyone had cleared out had a definite appeal. She purposefully took a passage that lead away from the fat lady for the third time that evening.

It wasn't that she didn't want to be with her friends, but she felt guilty. Every time she spent more than two minutes with them in the past couple days they'd ask what was wrong, and she'd be unable to come up with a satisfactory response- making them worry more. So tonight, she was going the avoidance route. Literally.

She was making another lap of the third floor corridor when she heard a hideous noise. It was the scratchy warbling cry of an angry cat. Specifically, Mrs. Norris. When that call was complemented with an angry hiss, Hermione knew she had about three seconds to side step the caretaker's cat. She darted to the nearest door and into the empty classroom.

Just as she was pulling the door shut, a hand grabbed it and forced it back open. She was shuffled out of the way by a hand on her waist as Sirius' tall form darted into the room and closed the door behind himself. He leaned up against the wood, his ear pressed to the door's seam and his fingers over Hermione's mouth. He used just enough pressure to let her know that he wanted her to stay quiet, but not enough that it'd actually muffle her if she were to choose such a phenomenally bad time to start scolding him for following her.

They both stayed as quiet and still as possible, expecting to hear Filch's shuffling footsteps or Mrs. Norris' yowl.

It was just as Hermione's muscles started to ache from not moving that she came to her senses. With an annoyed look at Sirius, she pulled out her wand and whispered a locking charm and silencing charm one after the other. Sirius' ears turned a little pink at his amateur hiding tactics, and turned to Hermione with an audible sigh.

"Care to tell me what you were doing following me around?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I was looking for you, not following you. There's a difference." Sirius replied petulantly.

"Fine." Hermione reached for the doorknob, expecting to storm out but was stopped by the soft jingle of keys.

"Shit." Sirius swore enthusiastically.

Hermione turned back to him, terrified. She saw his eyes dart around the room in search of a second exit. When he found none, he grabbed her arm and cracked an egg over her head. Or at least, that's what it felt like. She saw him rap himself on the head as well before dragging her over to the darkest corner the room could manage.

Just as the door was opening, Sirius buried her as deeply into the shadows as possible, pressing his body into her and covering her from view. With the disillusionment charm in effect Hermione could make out the blurry shapes of the empty classroom through Sirius' chest, while also making out his boundaries, facial features, and general appearance. Though she was sure she wouldn't be able to see any detail if she hadn't been closer to him at this moment than she'd ever been with anyone before.

She made out his lips forcefully forming the words 'Stay still' as he pressed even closer into her, if that were possible. She heard more than saw Filch slowly shuffling from the door to the empty teacher's desk and back. It was difficult to stay still when her body wanted to tremble madly with fear. She could feel herself giving way to miniscule tremors and stared at Sirius' face in terror.

He looked fine, but Hermione could hear (or was it feel? He was so close) his rapid heartbeat. Much as he may want to be in control, she was sure that he was counting the blessed seconds until they were discovered right along with her.

At a tortuously slow pace, Filch dragged his decrepit body out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Hermione and Sirius stayed unmoving for about ten seconds. Once they were sure that Filch was gone for good, Sirius' body sagged with relief and he dropped his head to Hermione's shoulder. She couldn't see him, but she felt sure that he was grinning.

That suspicion was strengthened when she heard his muffled but exhilarated voice coming from her shoulder. "I can't believe that _worked!"_

"You mean you weren't sure it would?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"No." Sirius shook his head against her shoulder, brushing his nose against the exposed skin at the bottom of her neck.

Whether it was on purpose or not, that contact sent a cool electric shiver through Hermione. It tensed her body momentarily and her breath caught in her throat.

Sensing the change in Hermione's demeanor, Sirius' body took on a new strain as well. Tentatively he shifted his face to nuzzle her neck again, and was satisfied with the gentle sound of her letting out an involuntary breath.

Moving slowly to give her a chance to back out if she wasn't okay, he brushed his lips against the side of her smooth throat. With his well-practiced skill and Hermione's unconscious encouragement, Sirius placed gentle kisses on Hermione's warm skin. He moved lazily from her pulse to a sensitive point just under her ear that, judging from her sharp intake of air, he was sure was previously unexplored territory.

Hermione could feel Sirius grin and gently nip at her earlobe before teasing along her jaw. If she had any idea that _this _was what kissing was about, she would've accepted Lavender and Parvati's advice on her love life ages ago.

Every part of Hermione's body was tingling by now, some more than others. Her breath was coming embarrassingly quickly and she could feel her knees trembling. Sirius moved one of this arms off of the wall and put it on her waist. Without thinking she slid her arm from his chest up to Sirius' shoulder. She felt his momentary hesitation before he carefully slid his lips over hers.

Kissing Sirius, even as chastely as this, was like pouring cool water over her head on a summer day, tensing and relaxing her muscles at the same time. It sent a noticeable shiver down Hermione's body that she didn't even try to cover up. She was too busy drowning. That's what it felt like. He was all around her and so gentle that Hermione found herself pushing her mouth against his, seeking more pressure, more activity, more anything.

She would've been shy if it hadn't been for the very quiet moan Sirius let out, responding to her advances in kind. His hand moved from her waist to her lower back, pulling her into his body at the same time that Hermione's hands fisted into his generous hair.

Sirius felt her long fingers tug at his hair and smiled into her lips. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, silently praying she let him in. Her gasp granted him the access he needed. Slowly he coaxed her into participation, exploring and teasing her inexperienced mouth until she was teasing back.

There was nothing like kissing Hermione Granger. For all her feisty quips and comebacks, her embrace betrayed her unending sweetness. The girl that was so outgoing in conversation was shy, innocent even, when he was kissing her, and absolutely sexy on both counts. She was pushing his buttons and she didn't even know it.

That's what ended it. His body was taut with restraint, but there were some things that no teenage boy can control- not even Sirius Black. He broke away from her as smoothly as possible while simultaneously taking a half-step back. He kept his hands at her waist, worried she'd sense rejection. Instead, he watched her eyes open and slip into focus on his face.

What he hadn't expected was for her brow to furrow, for her to take her hands off his neck and put them on his, gently removing them from her waist. He looked down at her hands holding his and back up at her. She was biting her lip and looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Sirius." She met his eyes warmly. "I should've stopped that."

He started to open his mouth to protest such a blasphemous statement, but she cut him off with a look. He gave her a minute to compose her thoughts and choose her words, wanting an explanation as much as she seemed to want to give him one. Finally she sighed.

"Do you know when you've slept with someone, and you didn't really know what you were getting into? Then you wake up the next morning to find them in your bed and you think 'what have I done?'" She asked.

"Do you?" There was no doubt in his mind that she was ignorant of one night stand regrets.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." She said with a gentle smile. "Well, this would undoubtedly be one of those situations. For both of us, and probably you more than me. Not that you've done anything wrong! Quite the opposite, but there's this- this thing that- er" Try as she might, she wasn't being as clear as she'd like. This seemed like a good time to move from in between Sirius and the wall and toward a desk.

Surprisingly, Sirius just followed her. He sat on the teacher's desk, watching the thoughts playing across his friend's face and trying to be understanding. It was natural for her to second-guess the change in their relationship he supposed, but that didn't mean she was right in trying to stop it. On his side at least, this had been a long time coming. He raised his eyebrows at her expectantly.

"Listen, I can't expect you to understand right now, but-" She paused, searching for the right words, "I think that with some time and- perspective, you'll see why we should stay, um- stay-"

"Friends?" Sirius supplied, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't love the way she assumed he wouldn't understand what was going on with her. Did she not trust him?

"Yes." She whispered.

"It's late. You should probably get back to the dormitories." He looked at her, before studying his forearms.

He heard her move away from the desk she was perched on and, to his chagrin, towards him. He looked up in time to see her raise a hand, hesitate, and then brush a lock of his shaggy hair behind his ear.

.

Hermione dropped her traitorous hand and walked out the door, leaving Sirius sitting on the teacher's desk.

.

_A/N: So if you haven't already figured it out, this part of Sirius and Hermione's story is drawing to a close, and while I'm sure that reading that simple statement is like a knife in your heart, rejoice! For with the end of one, comes the beginning of another. I'll tell you more later._

_Also, please review! What did you think of this chapter?_


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I haven't owned it these last ten chapters, and I surely don't own it now._

_A/N: Why not get this out of the way? Review!_

_._

It had been days of having pangs in her stomach, and still Hermione remained. It was impossible to be either entirely happy or entirely sad at the prospect of going home. On the one hand, the longing she had for Harry, Ron, and her entire wizarding family had only intensified over the past few days of knowing she'd see them again. At the very same time, Hermione was prematurely lamenting the loss of this era, her friends, and the version of herself that had come to be in this time.

In her time, even with Harry and Ron, she was practical. She was useful, sensible, accommodating. She had forgotten what it was like to be anything more than the encyclopedic best friend of Harry Potter. But here? Here there were people who had never known her as a prefect, a mudblood, a book, or a boy. And one person at least seemed to see her as a woman. But then, she couldn't let that continue. She didn't know if she'd be able to look the Sirius of her time in the face as it was.

And so, she found herself saying silent goodbyes to everyone and everything of the era. At first, she hadn't realized what she was doing, but by the time she'd caught herself running her hand through Remus' every time she left him, and giving Lily hugs for no reason, she figured she may as well keep doing it. If anyone thought it odd that she'd become more affectionate in the past two days, they didn't say it. Or at least, not to her face.

She wished she could warn them, say something, tell them what they meant to her, but she couldn't. The only goodbye she could give was to Alice, and so she did.

"How do you know?" Alice's brow wrinkled gloomily. She was sitting cross-legged on Hermione's bed with the time traveler and had been since Hermione swept her out of the common room while Lily did rounds.

"Those stomach cramps I keep getting seem to go hand in hand with the switch over." Hermione said with a casualness she didn't feel.

"Oh!" Alice's eyes widened, then she looked guilty.

"What?"

"Well, we- that is to say, Lily and I- have trained the boys to leave us girls alone when we- erm- are having, um, issues like that." Alice said delicately, wanting to laugh. "Remus even gives us chocolate sometimes."

"Are you serious?" Hermione turned bright red with mortification. "So everyone thinks-"

"Well, you've been acting fairly hot and cold lately, we just assumed." Alice apologized.

"I have?" Hermione pouted.

"It's understandable considering the circumstances." Alice said reasonably.

"But you're the only one who knows the circumstances, Alice." Hermione moaned, flopping to bury her face in her pillow. This conversation wasn't going as planned. She felt Alice scoot over and lay down next to her.

"I'm going to miss you, Hermione." She said quietly.

Hermione nodded her agreement. When she stayed silent, Alice spoke again. "They're going to miss you too."

.

He was on his best behavior.

He wouldn't lie to himself and say it didn't sting, watching her be so affectionate with _everyone_ but him. He had spent forty-eight maddening hours watching her touch Remus, James, Lily, but not him. Never him.

For his part, he tried to be a gentleman and kept his hands to himself, much more so than before the classroom debacle. At dinner, every time he wanted to reach for her hand, he salted his food instead. It was an effective tactic, but his meal was practically inedible within five minutes. He had switched from the couch to armchairs in an effort to respect her newly off-limits personal space.

James and Remus had noticed. They hadn't said anything out loud, but their eyes often flicked between he and Hermione, silently remarking on their conspicuous distance. And what was he supposed to say? 'She rejected me'?

There was just so much wrong with that sentence that the thought of actually voicing it to one of his friends was laughable. It was one thing to fight with her and lose, quite another to kiss her and be told 'No thanks'. Besides, it wasn't as if he were giving up- just taking a breather.

.

The fire was burning low, and Hermione was in a game of chicken.

When she'd surfaced from her homework, the common room had been empty bar one. Sirius was sitting in an adjacent armchair reading a paperback, something called _The mystery of Cirro Cumulous and the lost snitch. _To put it plainly, she wasn't going to be the first to get up and go to bed, and after she'd realized that Sirius wasn't so much reading as staring at the page, she knew he wasn't leaving either.

Merlin she could be stubborn. Just when Sirius had thought she'd given up, she'd pulled _another_ text book out of her seemingly bottomless bag and flipped through it as well. At this point, as much as Sirius wanted to go up to bed, he knew he couldn't. He'd made it his personal mission to prove to her that he was just as pigheaded as she was, that he could last as long as she could. And so he stayed. Waiting.

This was getting ridiculous, it was nearly one in the morning and he still hadn't moved. Without really meaning to, Hermione let out a frustrated sigh.

Sirius' responding chuckle only served to infuriate her.

"Aren't you tired?" She asked pointedly.

"Not really. I could stay here all night." He grinned at her innocently, completely unfazed. God that was annoying.

"Me neither." She said, turning back to her text book.

"You sure?" She looked back up, but Sirius continued smoothly. "This fire is warm, but its a distant second to a cozy elf-prepared bed. And wouldn't it feel so nice to go curl up under the covers after such a long day?"

"Oh but Sirius, why ever would I want to abandon such a comfortable spot? I may well spend the whole night here." Hermione stretched out on the couch to illustrate her point.

"Then so shall I." Sirius obstinately rested his feet on the coffee table in front of him. He tried to lean his head back, but the chair was high-backed and it was impossible to settle into a comfortable position, despite his best efforts. When he twisted his head around to rest his chin awkwardly on his chest he heard a laugh.

He looked Hermione's way to see her covering her mouth with her hand in an effort to muffle her giggle.

"You don't want to pass me a pillow, do you?" He could feel his face break into a smile.

"Not really." Hermione answered into her hand.

He averted his gaze, choosing instead to study his hands. They were large. Sensing Hermione's eyes on him, he re-acknowledged her presence by meeting her fond gaze. All he could do was return her small smile with one of his own.

"Sirius?" She asked, as if she didn't already have his attention.

"Yep?"

"I want you to know that I care about you." She said. If she hadn't spoken so quietly it would've sounded matter-of-fact. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, it was something he had needed to hear from her. She hadn't been cold exactly, but he had worried the awkwardness was there to stay, slowly straining them until avoidance became habit.

"Yeah, I know." His voice was a little hoarse.

They both got up at the same time, and Sirius walked over to the boys' staircase. With his foot on the first step, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around to find Hermione standing in front of him. Before he knew it, she'd wrapped her arms around his waist and was hugging him as if afraid he'd run away. It was a relief to wrap his arms around her shoulders and rest his chin on her head. Just now he didn't lust for her, but reveled in the Hermione-saturated moment.

When she finally stepped back, her lips were turned up at the corners just slightly. Sirius watched her head back to the girls' steps, noticing that her shoulders, her neck, her movement in general was more relaxed than he'd ever seen it. And then she was gone.

.

"See? It says right _here._" A redheaded boy said. Another put his head in place to read the passage the first was pointing to in the large book he held.

"You. Can. Not. Apparate. In. Hogwarts." The first said. Again.

"I know that!" His twin said in an identical voice. "But how else do you explain?"

At this moment, Hermione's frazzled form popped into view, stumbled forward, and fell over George where he was sitting on the floor with his twin.

"Hermione!" George shouted.

"How are you doing that?" Fred asked, none too worried for his twin's well being, but helping Hermione right herself.

"H-how long have I been gone?" Hermione breathlessly asked the first question that popped to mind.

"About a minute and a half." Fred answered at the same time that George said accusingly, "You can't apparate in Hogwarts!"

"I know that." Hermione answered, her eyes scanning and taking in her surroundings. Her book bag was empty on the floor, and the group of three was surrounded by Hermione's once-familiar textbooks. Her eyes finally landed on her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ that was cradled in Fred's hands. She looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"George ripped page twenty seven!" He practically shouted. At George's indignant gasp he simply said, "I'm not going down for that, mate."

"Don't worry about it, I don't care." Hermione's lax response came from beside the squirming brothers.

They looked at her with undisguised shock.

With a dazed carriage, Hermione picked herself up off the floor, stepped lightly through the books that littered the floor.

She didn't start walking with purpose until she reached the third floor, at which point her pace picked up, rushing toward the statue that offered her an escape to where she needed to be. With a quick tap, she threw herself into the passage's opening and slid down. The moment her feet touched solid earth, she took off running.

She wasn't entirely sure where Hogwarts' grounds ended, so she just kept going. She ran until her chest ached and an unattractive sheen of clammy sweat covered her forehead. It wasn't until she stumbled on the first step of many that she stopped and spun in a tight circle.

With a pop she appeared on the doorstep of number twelve Grimmauld Place. With no excuse (or real desire) to stop now, she pushed the heavy door open firmly. Maybe too firmly, as it was to the screeches of the late Mrs. Black that she climbed the stairs, guided by an internal compass she didn't know she had. She burst into the Black family library and finally noticed the stitch in her side.

With an audience of two shocked men, she stood in the doorway and tried to catch her breath.

Sirius jumped off the couch and, with the reflexes one only knew during times of war, whipped out his wand to check the witch for injuries.

Meanwhile the man that she had once thought of as 'Professor Lupin' approached her with equal agility and urgency.

"Hermione! Has something happened?" He had moved toward her and tilted her chin to look at him, searching her eyes for answers as to why she had burst into the room. Surely she wouldn't have been who the Order would send in case of an attack.

"No- no, everything's- fine." She gasped out between breaths, shaking her head.

As she got control over her breathing, she surveyed the now slightly more relaxed men in front of her. Older? Yes. Was Sirius' hair longer? Yes. Was Remus a little more scarred? Yes. Familiar? Undoubtedly.

And they were expecting her to explain. Since she'd left Gryffindor tower she'd been consumed by the knowledge that she _had _to get to Grimmauld Place, but she hadn't really thought past that.

And now they were waiting.

Her eyes darted from aristocratic face to scarred and back again. She opened her mouth.

And closed it.

Then resumed shifting her gaze back and forth. Eventually she cleared her throat.

"You owe me ten galleons."


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

_._

"I need a cup of tea." Sirius said abruptly after what had to have been two full minutes of silence.

And with that, he exited the library. His feet tread the path to the kitchen, unconsciously waving his wand to shut his mother's ramblings up.

He remembered. One doesn't forget seeing a girl vanish from before their eyes in the middle of the night.

He put the kettle on in autopilot, using his brain to try to put himself in his place.

'What did she need?' he asked himself over and over.

Did she need him to play Harry's godfather? Tell her that she was always welcome for Christmas and Holidays, but keep his distance-as he had since meeting her again at thirteen? Did she need him to be 'the ex'? Would she be so uncomfortable with him now that he should just leave her alone? Did she need him to be the Marauder she'd known? For him to joke around and pretend that it wasn't weird- even though it _really_ was?

He was so absorbed in thought that he didn't notice Moony and Hermione's quiet approach. In fact, it wasn't until the kettle's whistle sounded and he had a mug in his hand that he realized he wasn't alone. He turned around to see them standing in the doorway, Remus had his hand on Hermione's shoulder.

He'd thought Alice was talking nonsense when she told him that the bushy-haired girl from Ipswich had been a time traveler. Sure, he'd had reason to. But when he had seen the girl in the shack that he'd long since written off, he sent her a silent apology. And for the past few years she was Harry's best friend, an easy box to put her in.

Now? He took in her appearance. She looked the same. The last time he saw her, not more than a month ago, she was Harry's Hermione- seventeen, sweet, a tomboy. There was no obvious change that he could put his finger on, except that he hadn't seen _her_ in eighteen years.

The girl standing in front of him wasn't Harry's friend, she was Sirius'. This was _his _Hermione that was in his kitchen, and she needed a friend.

.

_**Author's Note**_

_This is the part where you all hate me.  
_

_But hear me out-_

_Since this was my first piece of fan fiction, my plans for this particular story were somewhat vague. First, I was thinking five chapters. Then maybe more. Then I just couldn't stop. _

_My goals were this: to write something simple and unsatisfying- because in how many time-turner fics do they actually embrace the (in my opinion) inevitable awkwardness of meeting up afterward? We all want them to run into each other's arms, hug, kiss, and say that the gap didn't matter. We want them to pick up where they left off._

_And that's why this particular tale is over. It was never structured for more than a dozen chapters._

_I'm sure you have a lot of questions (I know, because I read your reviews) and aren't ready for it to be over (again, I know because I read your reviews). And guess what. **Neither do I!**_

_Which is why I'm proud to inform you of my second multi-chapter fanfic: Take Two. _

_It's a companion/sequel to Time Twitch. _

_This one will be more involved: exploring darker avenues, familiar characters, and more mature themes in general. It will also take a little longer to update- fair warning._

_So if you're wondering 'What next?', go to my profile and find the first chapter of the next part of our beloved Hermione and Sirius' relationship._

_Thanks for reading, hope you like the next._

_PS: I'd also like to thank all of my reviewers one more time-with special gratitude to probably my most loyal reviewer, whose notes I always looked forward to, .._


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